What is lung cancer?

Cancer that starts in one or both of the lungs is known as primary lung cancer. When cancer starts in another part of the body and spreads to the lungs, it is called secondary or metastatic cancer in the lung.

You can access further information about lung cancer, including risk factors, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment from Cancer Council Victoria. You can also call our trusted cancer nurses on 13 11 20 for support and to learn about our range of services for people affected by cancer.

The Victorian Cancer Registry also operates an interactive web portal, Data Explorer, which provides more trends and statistics than published here.

How common is lung cancer?

In 2022, 3269 Victorians were diagnosed with lung cancer. Of these, there were 1776 males and 1493 females, representing 54.3% and 45.7% of the total Victorian lung cancer diagnoses, respectively. Currently, lung cancer is diagnosed at a rate of 26.8 per 100,000 males and 21.1 per 100,000 females. The median age at diagnosis of lung cancer is 71 years in males and 71 in females (Figure 1 & 2). Accounting for 9% of all cancers diagnosed and 18.6% of all cancer-related deaths in 2022, lung cancer was the 4th most commonly diagnosed cancer and the most common cause of cancer-related deaths in Victoria.

Trends in lung cancer over time

Figure 3 shows that for males between 1982 to 2010 the incidence of lung cancer declined by an average of 2% per year, and between 2010 to 2022 incidence declined by an average of 1.2% per year.

For females between 1982 to 2020 the incidence of lung cancer increased by an average of 1.2% per year, and between 2020 to 2022 incidence stabilised.

For males between 1982 to 1989 the mortality of lung cancer was stable, and between 1989 to 2022 mortality declined by an average of 2.9% per year.

For females between 1982 to 1994 the mortality of lung cancer increased by an average of 1.9% per year, between 1994 to 2015 mortality stabilised, and between 2015 to 2022 mortality declined by an average of 2.3% per year.

Lung cancer morphology

Figure 4 provides a summary of the different types of cells (morphology) which have caused lung cancer among all cases. Almost 90% of lung cancer tumours are non-small-cell lung carcinomas (NSCLC), a group that can be further divided by cell type. Most lung cancer tumours, 40.8%, present as Adenocarcinoma (NSCLC) tumours.

Lung cancer subtypes

Figure 5 provides a breakdown of lung cancer by its location in 2022. Most (43.1%) are found in the Upper lobe section of the lung.

Geographical variance in lung cancer by local government area

Figure 6 demonstrates variation in age-standardised incidence rates of lung cancer, by local government areas. Darker shading indicates areas with higher rates of lung cancer.

Lung cancer in people born overseas

Figure 7 shows the age standardised incidence rates of lung cancer in Australian-born Victorians compared to other major migrant groups, over the five-year period 2017 to 2021. The highest age standardised incidence rate for lung cancer was 36.2 for males born in the Southern Europe region and the lowest rate of 16.1 was observed in males born in the Southern and Central Asia region. The highest age standardised incidence rate for lung cancer was 26.7 for females born in the UK and Ireland region and the lowest rate of 8.3 was observed in females born in the Southern and Central Asia region.

Lung cancer five-year relative survival

Figure 8 shows the change in 5-year survival for lung cancer, and the 5-year survival trend for all cancers over the same time period. It demonstrates that five-year relative survival has increased for lung cancer between 1982-1986 and 2017-2021 from 11% to 29%.