The Incidence and Prevalence of Cancer of the Lung

Abstract

It is estimated that between 450,000 and 500,000 persons in the U. S. are under medical treatment for cancer. Approx. 20,000 of the known cases under treatment have a primary cancer of the respiratory system; of these, about 13,000 are being treated for primary cancer of the lung. Slightly more than 8,000 new cases of primary cancer of the lung, and nearly 5,000 cases with primary cancer of other parts of the respiratory system are diagnosed and receive medical treatment for the first time each yr. The illness rate from all forms of cancer is higher among [female][female] than among [male][male], but the opposite is true for respiratory cancer.