Lung Cancer Backgrounder

Boehringer Ingelheim

1. OVERVIEW
Lung cancer is the most common and most deadly form of cancer in the world: it accounts for 1.6 million new cancer cases annually. Because of its poor prognosis, 1.38 million deaths each year are attributable to lung cancer.¹ Overall lung cancer is the cause of 18% of all cancer deaths.¹ Thirteen percent of all new cases of cancer are lung cancers² and smoking is attributed as the main cause.³

2. WHAT IS LUNG CANCER?
Lung cancer, or bronchogenic carcinoma, is the term used to describe growth of abnormal cells lining the air passages inside the lung tissue. These cells divide and grow more rapidly than normal cells and combine to form a cluster or tumour.

3. WHAT IS THE PREVALENCE OF LUNG CANCER?
Lung cancer is the biggest cancer killer in the world with incidence rates higher in men than women and the highest overall prevalence seen in North America and Europe.⁴

• More than two-thirds of lung cancers are diagnosed at a late stage and only 7% of lung cancer patients survive for at least five years after diagnosis.5
• Eight in ten lung cancer cases occur in people aged 60 and over.⁵
• Recent studies indicate that despite a higher incidence of the disease in men, women are more susceptible to developing lung cancer than men, and women smokers are twice more likely to develop lung cancer than male smokers. Even among non-smokers, women are at higher risk of developing lung cancer than men.⁶

1.    Ferlay J et al. Estimates of worldwide burden of cancer in 2008: GLOBOCAN 2008. Int J Cancer 2010; EPub Ahead of print.

2.    Cancer Research UK. UK lung cancer incidence. CancerStats – Key Facts 2009. [Online] Available at: http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/lung/incidence/ [Last Accessed April 2009].

3.    Allen J et al. J Natl Compr Canc Netw 2008;6(3): 285-293.

4.    Parkin M et al. Global Cancer Statistics 2005. A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 55: 81-84.

5.    Cancer Research UK. CancerStats key facts on lung cancer and smoking. CancerStats – Key Facts 2009. [Online] Available at: http://info.cancerresearchuk.org/cancerstats/types/lung/ [Last Accessed April 2009].

6.    Global Lung Cancer Coalition. Lung cancer facts. Global Lung Cancer Coalition 2009. [Online] Available at: http://www.lungcancercoalition.com/cancer_facts.html [Last Accessed July 2010]