Cancer Progress and Priorities: Lung Cancer.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Narrative review of epidemiology, screening, and therapeutic advances with no systematic search methodology.
PubMed 31575553 · doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-19-0221
What was done
This paper summarizes the epidemiological trends, risk factors, screening modalities, and therapeutic landscape of lung cancer in the United States, including patterns observed in both smokers and never smokers.
What was found
Tobacco smoking accounts for 80% to 90% of all lung cancer diagnoses in the United States. When categorized separately, lung cancer in never smokers represents the 11th most common cancer and the 7th leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Overall survival rates have only marginally improved over several decades, though low-dose computed tomography screening, targeted therapies, and immunotherapy are anticipated to reduce future mortality.
Why it matters
It highlights that lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and emphasizes that lung cancer in never smokers requires distinct etiological investigation alongside modern screening and targeted therapies.
Limits
As a narrative overview, this paper provides no primary empirical data, quantitative meta-analysis, or systematic synthesis criteria. Detailed statistical effect sizes, survival metrics, and screening test characteristics are not reported in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports In the United States, 80 to 90 percent of lung cancer cases occur in people who smoke.