Lung cancer is one of the most common and serious types of cancer
More than 43,000 people are diagnosed with it every year in the UK
Early-stage lung cancer often has no noticeable symptoms
There are two main types: non-small-cell and small-cell lung cancer
It mainly affects older people, and is rare under age 40
About Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is one of the most common and serious types of cancer, with more than 43,000 people diagnosed each year in the UK. There are usually no signs in the early stages, but many people eventually develop symptoms such as a persistent cough, coughing up blood, ongoing breathlessness, unexplained tiredness and weight loss, or an ache or pain when breathing or coughing. It's important to see a GP if you have any of these symptoms.
Types of Lung Cancer
Cancer that starts in the lungs is called primary lung cancer, while cancer that spreads to the lungs from elsewhere in the body is known as secondary lung cancer. There are two main forms of primary lung cancer, classified by the type of cell where the cancer begins: non-small-cell lung cancer, the most common form, making up around 80 to 85 in every 100 cases (and itself divided into squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, or large-cell carcinoma), and small-cell lung cancer, a less common form that tends to spread more quickly. The specific type diagnosed determines which treatments are most suitable.
Page last reviewed: 6 March 2024 · Next review due: 6 March 2027
Lung Cancer · Who's Affected
Who's Affected by Lung Cancer
? 3 min readReviewed: March 2024
Age and Risk Factors
Lung cancer mainly affects older people, and is rare in those under 40 — more than 4 in 10 people diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK are aged 75 or older. While people who've never smoked can still develop lung cancer, smoking is by far the most common cause, accounting for more than 70 in every 100 cases, largely because it involves regularly inhaling a range of toxic substances.
Page last reviewed: 6 March 2024 · Next review due: 6 March 2027
Lung Cancer · Treatment & Outlook
Treatment and Outlook
? 4 min readReviewed: March 2024
Treatment Options
The right treatment depends on the type of mutation involved, how far the cancer has spread, and your general health. If diagnosed early, with the cancer confined to a small area, surgery to remove the affected part of the lung may be recommended. If surgery isn't suitable because of your general health, radiotherapy may be used instead to destroy the cancerous cells. If the cancer has spread too far for surgery or radiotherapy to be effective, chemotherapy is typically used.
Targeted therapies are also available — a group of medicines that act on specific changes in or around cancer cells that help them grow. These can't cure lung cancer, but they can help slow its progression.
What to Expect
Because lung cancer often doesn't cause noticeable symptoms until it's spread within the lungs or to other parts of the body, the outlook tends to be less favourable than for many other cancers. Around 2 in 5 people with lung cancer live for at least a year after diagnosis, and about 1 in 10 live for at least 10 years, though survival varies considerably depending on how far the cancer has spread when it's found — early diagnosis can make a genuinely significant difference to outcomes.
Page last reviewed: 6 March 2024 · Next review due: 6 March 2027
