Overview
- Five-year survival has risen to 29.7% as early-stage diagnoses reach 28.1%, yet 43% of cases are still found late and national screening of eligible people is only 18.2%.
- State gaps are stark, with survival highest in Rhode Island at 37.6% and lowest in Alabama at 22.7%, and screening ranging from 31% in Rhode Island to 9.7% in Wyoming.
- Coverage for precision biomarker testing remains limited, with 17 states requiring comprehensive coverage, five requiring partial coverage, and 28 states plus Washington, D.C., requiring none, even after new laws in New Jersey and Connecticut.
- Surgical treatment remains stagnant at 20.7% as 21% of patients receive no treatment, a rate that peaks at 36.9% in Nevada and is lowest at 13.2% in Massachusetts.
- The American Lung Association warns that cuts to NIH and CDC budgets and reductions in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act coverage could slow research, screening, and access to care as roughly 227,000 new cases and about 124,730 deaths are projected this year.