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Lung Cancer Risk by Age

The risk of getting lung cancer increases with age and is greater in men than in women. The tables below shows the percentage of men or women (how many out of 100) who will get lung cancer over different time periods. The time periods are based on the person’s current age.

For example, go to the men’s current age 60. The table shows 1.96% of men who are now 60 years old will get lung cancer sometime during the next 10 years. That is, 1 or 2 out of every 100 men who are 60 years old today will get lung cancer by the age of 70.

Percent of U.S. Men Who Develop Lung Cancer over 10-, 20-, and 30-Year Intervals According to Their Current Age, 2010–2012
Current Age 10 Years 20 Years 30 Years
30 0.02 0.16 0.82
40 0.14 0.81 2.58
50 0.69 2.51 5.34
60 1.96 5.01 7.04
70 3.57 5.93 N/A

Source: Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, Garshell J, Miller D, Altekruse SF, Kosary CL, Yu M, Ruhl J, Tatalovich Z, Mariotto A, Lewis DR, Chen HS, Feuer EJ, Cronin KA (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975–2012, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2012/browse_csr.php?sectionSEL=15&pageSEL=sect_15_table.19.html, based on November 2014 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER Web site, April 2015.

Percent of U.S. Women Who Develop Lung Cancer over 10-, 20-, and 30-Year Intervals According to Their Current Age, 2010–2012
Current Age 10 Years 20 Years 30 Years
30 0.02 0.17 0.72
40 0.15 0.71 2.11
50 0.57 2.00 4.28
60 1.50 3.89 5.49
70 2.64 4.42 N/A

Source: Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, Garshell J, Miller D, Altekruse SF, Kosary CL, Yu M, Ruhl J, Tatalovich Z, Mariotto A, Lewis DR, Chen HS, Feuer EJ, Cronin KA (eds). SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975–2012, National Cancer Institute. Bethesda, MD, http://seer.cancer.gov/csr/1975_2012/browse_csr.php?sectionSEL=15&pageSEL=sect_15_table.20.html, based on November 2014 SEER data submission, posted to the SEER Web site, April 2015.

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Risk by Age for Other Types of Cancer

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