Complications

Although lung cancer accounts for only 13% of all cancers, it is among the most lethal, accounting for over 28% of all cancer deaths. It is more deadly than colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined. An estimated 157,200 people will die from lung cancer in 2003--over 88,000 men and nearly 70,000 women. Death rates have been declining in men over the past decade, and they have now stabilized in Caucasian women. Nevertheless, they are still increasing in African American women.

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If the cancer is still localized, surgery can produce five-year survival rates of up to 75% in stage I patients and up to 50% in stage II patients. Unfortunately, very few patients are diagnosed at such early stages. In locally advanced stages, the standard treatment achieves average survival times of less than two years.

On an encouraging note, advances in therapies for late-stage lung cancer are now prolonging survival times. However, the mortality rate for lung cancer is still extremely high, and reports of improved response or survival rates using drugs or combinations therapies do not mean cures. Ultimately, the patient must weigh a diminished quality of life using some aggressive treatments against a chance for a modestly prolonged life.