As the second leading cause of cancer in both men and women in the U.S., small cell and non-small cell lung cancer affects thousands of people each year.
According to The American Cancer Society, estimates for lung cancer cases in the U.S. for 2025 are1:
- Approximately 226,650 new lung cancer cases (110,680 in men and 115,970 in women)
- Approximately 124,730 lung cancer deaths (64,190 in men and 60,540 in women)
Most lung cancer diagnoses occur in people 65 or older, with 70 being the average age people are diagnosed.1
In recent years, advances in diagnosis and treatment have improved drastically, enhancing quality of life and increasing the length of life for patients.
Advances in Diagnostics
A Non-Invasive Diagnostic Tool
A new non-invasive and potentially inexpensive diagnostic tool could improve access to lung cancer screening. A trial led by researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering showed promising results for their E-Nose Diagnostic Tool, which can detect the volatile organic compounds produced by cancer cells in a person’s breath.2
The Potential of AI
AI and deep learning are helping to advance genetic analysis, mutation detection, and pathology. Because AI enhances the detection of mutations, often outperforming other approaches to genetic analysis, it can lead to more targeted immunotherapies. AI is aiding imaging diagnosis by helping to distinguish between healthy lung tissue and different types of cancerous lesions. With specimen analysis, advances in deep learning have accelerated the pace and improved the accuracy of diagnosis.3
Improved Imaging
While low-dose CT scans are standard and proven for lung cancer screening, research suggests that lung MRI could be another beneficial tool for screening. Comparable to other imaging modalities, lung MRIs can result in less false-positives and do not expose patients to radiation. MRI can also distinguish between lung cancer and other conditions like fibrosis and obstructive pneumonia.4
Advances in Treatment
Advancing Precision Medicine
Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) combine the power of monoclonal antibodies, which bind to cancer cells, and chemotherapeutic drugs, which kill cancer cells. Because they are designed to bind to and destroy cancer cells, ADCs may improve treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer by targeting the cancer directly and minimizing the impact on healthy tissue.5
Harnessing Immune Response
Immunotherapy approaches employ the body’s natural immune response to detect and kill cancer cells. Trials are currently exploring how to use predictive biomarkers to guide patients to the most effective immunotherapies. Oncolytic virus therapy can locate and kill tumor cells within a tumor, while chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy uses genetically modified T cells to target antigens in tumors. mRNA vaccines, which can be personalized to a patient’s unique biology, are another emerging therapy that trigger an immune response, targeting tumor antigens.6
Combination Therapies
Combination therapies can provide patients with the best of multiple treatment options, making therapies more targeted and reducing adverse effects. The FDA has approved many combination therapies in recent years, such as the combination of osimertinib and platinum-based chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. Trials are currently underway to better determine the best sequence of therapies and how to best integrate them into a patient’s treatment plan.7
While lung cancer continues to be a pressing global health challenge, the number of new lung cancer cases is decreasing in part due to the diminishing popularity of smoking. Deaths from lung cancer also are dropping thanks to advances in early screening, detection, and treatment.1
Criterium’s Academic Thoracic Oncology Medical Investigators Consortium (ATOMIC) is an innovative research model that has brought together an expert team of institutions and investigators to design and rapidly complete clinical trials in thoracic and lung cancer with the ultimate goal of identifying new drugs to treat this disease. The Consortium’s goal is to serve as an important model for speeding time-to-market for drugs targeting all thoracic and lung cancers.
Learn more about the Academic Thoracic Oncology Medical Investigators Consortium
Sources:
- https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/lung-cancer/about/key-statistics.html#:~:text=Lung%20cancer%20(both%20small%20cell,chance%20of%20getting%20lung%20cancer
- https://www.mskcc.org/news/latest-advances-in-lung-cancer-care-at-msk-improving-detection-and-survival-rates#:~:text=The%20E%2DNose%20Diagnostic%20Tool,Rocco.
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41698-025-00986-7
- https://tlcr.amegroups.org/article/view/98243/html#
- https://go2.org/blog/antibody-drug-conjugates-adcs-a-promising-treatment-for-lung-cancer
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12115764/
- https://jhoonline.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13045-025-01679-1
