Lung Cancer Progress Drives Down US Cancer Death Rates

Cancer deaths declined for both men and women between 2019 and 2023, a decline attributed largely to accelerated progress against lung cancer—the leading cause of cancer death in the United States.¹

The report, released Tuesday and published in Cancer, presents the collaborative work of several cancer surveillance organizations on overall US cancer mortality. The CDC highlighted findings related to lung cancer, which remains the second most common cancer in both men and women.¹ The agency noted that continued reductions in cigarette smoking, support for tobacco-free environments, early cancer detection, timely diagnosis, and state-of-the-art treatment should allow the decline in lung cancer deaths to continue.^1,2

Overall cancer incidence rates were 504.6 per 100,000 among males and 443.0 among females during 2018-2019 and 2021-2022 (2020 was excluded from the analysis because of pandemic-related diagnostic delays). Incidence rates among males remained stable from 2013 to 2022, while rates among females increased 0.4% per year from 2011 to 2022.¹

The more notable findings were related to lung cancer. Lung cancer incidence decreased 3.5% per year among males and 1.9% among females between 2018 and 2022. Between 2019 and 2023, the overall cancer death rate decreased 1.6% per year among males and 1.1% among females. Within that same period, lung cancer death rates decreased 4.7% per year among males and 3.0% among females.¹

Researchers attributed these gains in part to a roughly 50% drop in smoking since the early 2000s, alongside a two-thirds increase in early-stage lung cancer diagnoses and a doubling of the 5-year relative survival rate for lung cancer.¹

Types of Lung Cancer Treatment Advancements

New treatments for lung cancer have emerged in recent years for both early-stage tumors (stages 1-3), which can be surgically removed, and advanced, metastasized stage 4 disease.³

Targeted therapies such as sotorasib (Lumakras; Amgen Inc) target the KRAS gene, which is responsible for about a quarter of lung cancers. Researchers studied the gene for years before a breakthrough led to sotorasib's FDA approval in 2021 for adults with the KRAS G12C mutation.³

Other therapies targeting KRAS mutations have since emerged, including adagrasib (Krazati; Mirati Therapeutics). Daraxonrasib (Rasonque; Revolution Medicines), another KRAS-targeted therapy, was FDA-approved in August 2026 for metastatic pancreatic cancer; it is not yet approved for lung cancer, though early trial results have been promising. In a phase 1/2 clinical trial, tumors shrank and health improved for 30% of lung cancer patients who took the drug.³

Immunotherapies, many of which are now standard of care, continue to be refined. Checkpoint inhibitors are often prescribed alone or in combination with chemotherapy and have been shown to shrink tumors before surgery and reduce the risk of recurrence afterward.

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) therapy is an emerging immunotherapy in use. The approach removes TILs, a specialized type of white blood cell, from a patient's tumor, grows them outside the body, then reinjects them to help destroy cancer cells elsewhere in the body.

Other approaches remain under investigation, including lung cancer vaccines intended to prevent recurrence of non-small cell lung cancer. These experimental vaccines use messenger RNA and are given in combination with pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck & Co) to try to reduce the risk of recurrence.³

Continued momentum in the cancer landscape, and in lung cancer specifically, suggests that sustained investment in prevention and innovation can improve outcomes for patients across cancer types.

References

1. Henley SJ, Siegel DA, Firth AU, et al. Annual report to the nation on the status of cancer, featuring 21st century progress against lung cancer. Cancer. Published online September 22, 2026. doi:10.1002/cncr.70577
2. CDC Newsroom. Annual report to the nation: progress against lung cancer drives down cancer mortality. CDC. September 22, 2026. Accessed September 22, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2026/annual-report-to-the-nation-progress-against-lung-cancer-drives-down-cancer-mortality.html
3. Stallard J. New lung cancer treatments aim to reduce deaths and improve lives. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. September 3, 2026. Accessed September 22, 2026. https://www.mskcc.org/news/new-lung-cancer-treatments-aim-to-reduce-deaths-in-2025-and-beyond