Report finds Delaware must act to reduce burden of lung cancer

Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer of women and men in the United States.

While it’s estimated that 840 Delaware residents will be diagnosed with this disease in 2019 alone, more Americans than ever are surviving the disease, according to a new report from the American Lung Association.

The annual State of Lung Cancer report examines the toll of lung cancer throughout the nation, and outlines steps every state can take to better protect its residents from lung cancer. This year’s report seeks to continue the positive trend of increased lung cancer survival, as the nationwide five-year lung cancer survival rate of 21.7 percent, up from 17.2 percent a decade ago, reflects a 26 percent improvement over the past 10 years.

In Delaware, the survival rate is among the average at 21.6 percent, while the new case rate is higher than average in the nation with an incident rate of 69.9 per 100,000 people.

“While we celebrate that more Americans than ever are surviving lung cancer, the disease remains the leading cause of cancer deaths, and much more can and must be done in Delaware to prevent the disease and support families facing the disease,” said Deborah Brown, chief mission officer, American Lung Association.

Part of the reason lung cancer is so deadly is that most lung cancer cases are diagnosed at a later stage, after the disease has spread. Lung cancer screening is the key to early detection, when the disease is most curable, but only 21.5 percent of lung cancer cases nationally are diagnosed at an early stage. This simple screening test has been available since 2015, but just 5.5 percent of those eligible in Delaware were screened in 2018.

Below are the 2019 report’s key findings for Delaware:

Delaware has a higher than average incidence rate of 69.9 per 100,000 people.

Lung cancer has one of the lowest five-year survival rates because cases are often diagnosed at later stages when it is less likely to be curable. Delaware ranks among the average with 21.6 percent of cases surviving five years after diagnosis.

Nationally, only 21.5 percent of cases are diagnosed at an early stage when the five-year survival rate is much higher (57.7 percent). Unfortunately, about 48.5 percent of cases are not caught until a late stage when the survival rate is only 6 percent. Delaware ranks among the highest with 24.6 percent of cases diagnosed at an early stage.

Lung cancer can often be treated with surgery if it is diagnosed at an early stage and has not spread widely. Nationally, 20.6 percent of cases underwent surgery. Delaware ranks below average with only 18.8 percent of cases undergoing surgery as part of their first course of treatment.

There are multiple reasons, some unavoidable, why patients may not receive treatment. No one should go untreated because of lack of provider or patient knowledge, stigma associated with lung cancer, fatalism after diagnosis or cost of treatment. Nationally, about 15.4 percent of cases receive no treatment. Delaware ranks average with 15 percent of cases receiving no treatment after being diagnosed.

Screening for lung cancer with annual low-dose CT scans among those who qualify can reduce the lung cancer death rate by up to 20 percent. Nationally, only 4.2 percent of those who qualify were screened. Delaware ranked among the average with 5.5 percent of those at high risk receiving screening in 2018.

For more information, go to www.Lung.org/solc.