Lung cancer causes more deaths among men and women than any other form of cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, in 2002 lung cancer will be the cause of approximately 170,000 deaths. Smoking cigarettes is the primary cause of 80% to 90% of lung cancers. It is almost a completely preventable disease if people would stop smoking tobacco. Most cases of lung cancer are detected only after considerable development and only after cancer cells have already spread to other parts of the body. In most forms of lung cancer, the abnormal cells are resistant to chemotherapy; however, one form of lung cancer called small-cell carcinoma often does respond to chemotherapy. Overall, the 5-year survival rate for people with a diagnosis of lung cancer is between 10% and 15%—not very good odds.
The rate of lung cancer in other nations is rising rapidly as more and more people take up cigarette smoking. The concerted effort in the U.S. to get people to stop smoking and to prevent access of young people to cigarettes is an attempt to reverse the epidemic of lung cancer in this country.
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