• The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force updated its lung cancer screening criteria in March to include a broader age range and lower smoking history threshold.
• The five-year survival rate for lung cancer rose to 23.7 percent nationally over the past five years.
• Four new lung cancer treatments received approval or accelerated approval from the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
• The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) released a language guide to move away from stigmatizing language in lung cancer research.

Although lung cancer remains the top cancer-related cause of death in the United States, 2021 brought new developments that give hope for people susceptible to or living with the condition. Through research and advocacy effects, the lung cancer community saw advances in screening, survival rates, treatments, and acceptance.

More People Are Eligible For Lung Cancer Screening

More people in the United States are eligible for lung cancer screening after the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force updated its screening criteria. The new screening criteria, released in March, lower the age for screening and reduce the number of “pack years” required to be eligible. A pack year is the number of packs smoked per day over the number of years smoked.

Under the new criteria, individuals between 50 and 80 years old with a 20 pack-year smoking history are eligible for lung cancer screening if they currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years. Screening is done with low-dose computed tomography (or CT), a type of imaging scan.

The previous criteria from 2013 recommended lung cancer screening for people 55 to 80 years old with a 30 pack-year history who currently smoke or quit within 15 years.

A modeling analysis conducted by the Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network found that the expanded screening eligibility criteria would be associated with fewer lung cancer deaths compared to the 2013 criteria. The expanded criteria are also intended to help address racial disparities in screening eligibility. However, there is concern that disparities will remain.

Talk to your doctor if you have questions about lung cancer screening.

Lung Cancer Survival Rates Improved

Lung cancer remains the top cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, regardless of gender. However, survival rates are improving. Over the past five years, the five-year survival rate for lung cancer increased 14 percent to 23.7 percent nationally, according to a report from the American Lung Association.

Lung cancer survival rates vary based on race and geography. Black Americans and communities of color face lower survival rates. Certain states have survival rates higher or lower than the national average. Connecticut has the highest lung cancer survival rate, 28.8 percent, while Alabama has the lowest, 18.4 percent.

While lung cancer survival rates have improved overall, the five-year survival rate for lung cancers diagnosed in an advanced stage is low: just 6 percent compared to 60 percent for cancers diagnosed before the cancer has spread. Just shy of half of lung cancers, 46 percent, are diagnosed after the cancer has metastasized.

Read more about lung cancer survival rates in the U.S.

Four New Medications For Lung Cancer Are Now Available

The FDA approved or granted accelerated approval to four new treatments for lung cancer in 2021. The four treatments — Tepmetko (tepotinib), Rybrevant (amivantamab-vmjw), Lumakras (sotorasib), and Exkevity (mobocertinib) — offer new therapies for cancers with few options.

Accelerated approval is used for drugs for serious medical conditions with no or few treatment options. Accelerated approval is based on a “surrogate endpoint,” or marker that predicts a clinical benefit to the drug. Drugs granted accelerated approval must still undergo study to provide the data required for a full approval.

Tepmetko

Tepmetko was given accelerated approval by the FDA on Feb. 3 for treating metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with mutations in the mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) gene. It is the first oral MET inhibitor developed to treat NSCLC.

Rybrevant

Rybrevant was approved by the FDA on May 21 as the first available treatment for NSCLC cases with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) exon 20 insertion mutations. Rybrevant is administered as an intravenous infusion.

Rybrevant was approved alongside a genetic test called Guardant360 CDx that is used to confirm that a person’s cancer has an EGFR exon 20 insertion.

Lumakras

On May 28, the FDA approved Lumakras for treating NSCLC with a specific mutation known as KRAS G12C. Lumakras is the first targeted therapy approved for this mutation, which has been considered resistant to treatment. It is taken orally.

Exkivity

Exkivity received accelerated approval on Sept. 15 as a new treatment for NSCLC with EGFR exon 20 insertions. Exkivity is the first oral therapy available to treat NSCLC with EGFR exon 20 insertions.

Read more about new treatments for lung cancer.

International Lung Cancer Research Group Takes Steps To Address Stigma

In July, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer released a language guide to help researchers remove stigmatizing language from papers and presentations.

The guide intends “to move the health care profession and the broader culture away from using judgmental or denigrating language when speaking to or about people living with lung cancer or any other disease,” according to a release from IASLC.

The guide recommends moving away from language that defines people by smoking behaviors. Instead of using terms like “smoker,” the guide suggests saying “person who smokes.” The guide also recommends eliminating language that blames an individual: For example, it recommends no longer using statements like “patient failed treatment” and instead opting for “treatment failed patient.”