Lung cancer survival is low and has seen only marginal increases since the mid-1970s [ 17 ]. Based on data from the nine oldest SEER registries, the 5 year relative survival rate increased from 12 % for patients diagnosed during 1975–1977 to 18 % for those diagnosed during 2003–2009 [ 17 ].
Cancer survival
depends largely on stage at diagnosis (Fig. 5 ). For lung cancer patients diagnosed in 2003–2009, the 5 year relative survival rate was 54 % for localized stage disease, 26 % for regional stage, and 4 % for distant stage [ 17 ].However, only 15 % of cases were diagnosed at the localized stage, while 22 % were diagnosed at the regional stage and 57 % were diagnosed at the distant stage [ 17 ].
Survival is lower in blacks (14 %) than in whites (18 %) [ 17 ] because blacks are less likely to receive standard treatment and are more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage (Fig. 5 ). Survival also declines with age. The 5 year relative survival rate for those diagnosed before the age of 45 is 27 %, compared to 19 % among those diagnosed at ages 55–64 and 12 % among those diagnosed at age 75 or greater [ 17 ].
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