肺癌是导致癌症相关死亡的首要原因，全球每年发病率达到约150万例。每天约有350人在美国死于肺癌，这个数字几乎是因结直肠癌（CRC）死亡人数的2.5倍，而CRC是导致癌症死亡的第二大原因。预计到2023年，将有约238,340人（117,550男性和120,790女性）被诊断出患有肺癌，其中有127,070人将死于这种疾病。尽管大约80%的肺癌是由吸烟引起的，但从未吸烟人群的死亡人数仍然相当可观，在单独分类时排名前10名的癌症死因之一。肺癌包括多种生物学上不同的肿瘤类型。两种主要类型的肺癌是非小细胞肺癌（NSCLC）和小细胞肺癌（SCLC），其中NSCLC占81%的病例，SCLC占14%的病例。NSCLC进一步分为腺癌（在女性中稍微更常见）、鳞状细胞癌和大细胞癌。

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortalities with the rate of incidence reaching about 1.5 million cases per year worldwide. Approximately 350 people die each day from lung cancer in USA-nearly 2.5 times more than the number of people who die from colorectal cancer (CRC), which is the second leading cause of cancer death overall. In 2023, an estimated 238,340 people (117,550 men and 120,790 women) will be diagnosed with lung cancer, and 127,070 people will die from the disease. Although approximately 80% of lung cancers are caused by cigarette smoking, the toll among people who have never smoked is substantial, ranking among the top 10 causes of cancer death when categorized separately. Lung cancer encompasses a variety of biologically distinct tumours. The two primary types of lung cancer are non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which accounts for 81% of cases, and small cell lung cancer (SCLC), which accounts for 14% of cases. NSCLC is further categorized as adenocarcinoma, which is slightly more common in women, followed by squamous cell carcinoma and large cell carcinoma.