Surveillance study of temporal trends in lung cancer cases diagnosed at early stage in the United States

Since December 2013, the US Preventive Services Task Force has recommended lung cancer screening for adults at high risk of developing lung cancer because of their age and smoking history. Increased uptake of lung cancer screening may be reflected in changes in the stage at which lung cancer is detected. A surveillance study using US Cancer Statistics incidence data examined temporal trends in lung cancer diagnosed at early stage from 2003 to 2022. During the study period, 4 363 687 new lung cancer cases were reported. The percentage diagnosed at early stage increased slowly from 17.6% in 2003 to 20.2% in 2014, increased sharply from 21.4% in 2015 to 24.6% in 2016, then increased steadily to 30.1% in 2022. The percentage diagnosed at early stage increased in all states, beginning around 2016 in most states. The authors conclude that since lung cancer screening was recommended in 2013, more people with lung cancer are being diagnosed early, when treatment is more effective and more treatment options are available.