Lung Cancer Facts

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States among every ethnic group... 1 in every 3 cancer deaths.

Lung cancer will kill:

• More people than breast, prostate, colon, liver, kidney, and melanoma cancers... combined.
• Over three times as many men as prostate cancer.
• Nearly twice as many women as breast cancer.
• An average of 439 people a day.

*Includes 450 men
Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program http://seer.cancer.gov

Percent of New Lung Cancer Cases

Over 60% of new cases are never smokers or former smokers, many of whom quit decades ago.

One in five women and one in twelve men diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked.

Tong L, Spitz MR, Fueger JJ, et al: "Lung carcinoma in former smokers". Cancer 78:1004-10, 1996.
Warner EE, Mulshine JL, "Lung Cancer Screening with Spiral Ct: Toward a work strategy." Oncology (Williston Park). 2004 May; 18(5):564-75, discussion 578, 583-4, 587.

Stage of Diagnosis

Only 16% of lung cancer is being diagnosed at its earliest and most curable stage.

The majority of lung cancer patients are being diagnosed so late that they will die within a year.

Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program: http://seer.cancer.gov

Cancer Research Funding

When President Nixon and Congress declared War on Cancer 35 years ago, lung cancer was the leading cause of cancer death. It still is. Federal cancer programs are primarily funded through three sources.

National Cancer Institute (NCI) :NCI’s budget has grown over the past 35 years from $380 million a year to
$4.8 billion a year in fiscal year 2007 (FY07) – an increase of 1265% - and NCI has complete control over how
to spend the money.

Even though lung cancer causes one in every three cancer deaths, lung cancer research received less than 5% of NCI’s budget in FY07.

Department of Defense: In 1992, Congress started funding cancer research at DOD with a specific line-item
for a breast cancer research program, and later added prostate cancer research and other diseases. Through
FY07 DOD has spent $2.07 billion on breast cancer research and $810 million on prostate cancer research.

Lung Cancer has never had a DOD line-item research program and will receive $0 in the DOD FY07 budget.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Congress also earmarks funding within CDC for
specific cancers. The CDC budget for FY07 includes $201 million for breast and cervical cancer initiatives,
$13.9 million for prostate cancer and $14.4 million for colon cancer.

CDC budget for FY07 included $0 for lung cancer initiatives.

Total Research Funding From NCI, CDC, and DOD (FY07):

Breast: $971,800,000
Prostate: $323,500,000
Colon: $287,000,000
Lung: $226,900,000