Overview
- Spain reports the fastest growth in female lung cancer in Europe, with 6,679 of 23,239 deaths in 2024 occurring in women and female mortality rising 7% year over year.
- One in 20 diagnoses now occurs before age 50, and more than 10% of cases are in never-smokers, linked to radon, pollution, occupational exposures and identifiable genetic drivers.
- Registry data show 56% of patients are diagnosed at stage III–IV and only about 10% at early stages, limiting curative options.
- Spain’s Cassandra pilot has reached 15 hospitals in six regions and plans to expand, as evidence indicates low-dose CT screening can reduce mortality by roughly 20–25%.
- Access to genomic testing has improved—over 80% of Spanish patients are tested—and targeted therapies and immunotherapy are extending survival, even as experts warn of low research funding and access gaps.