Lung cancer

Lung cancer is also called cancer of the bronchus. Find out about symptoms, risk factors and causes of lung cancer, diagnostic tests, treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and biological therapy, likely outcome (prognosis), research and how to cope with lung cancer, including managing breathlessness.

If you have cancer that has spread to your lungs from somewhere else (secondary cancer), this is not the right section for you. You need to find the section relating to where the cancer first started (the primary cancer).

What to ask your doctor about tests

What to ask your doctor about living with lung cancer

You can also find lung cancer organisations providing help and support, a reading list and see where this information comes from.

Did you know that Cancer Research UK has an online forum for people affected by cancer? Cancer Chat is your space to talk about cancer.

Plus join the Q & A sessions on the first Thursday of every month and have your questions answered by one of our cancer specialist nurses.

News: Gene test could identify early stage lung cancer patients who may benefit from extra chemo: Researchers in the US have developed a gene test that seems to be able to predict which early stage (stage I) non-small cell lung cancer patients have the poorest prognosis.; 27 Jan 2012
News: New genetic fault linked to lung cancer in non-smokers: Korean scientists have discovered a gene fault that may be behind thousands cases of lung cancer worldwide, particularly in non-smokers.; 22 Dec 2011
Press release: First patients enrolled in project to improve NHS cancer gene testing: Cancer Research UK has started recruiting patients for a pioneering initiative to demonstrate how genetic tests could be used within the NHS to help match cancer patients to the most appropriate treatment, while building a database of information for research into new targeted therapies.; 21 Nov 2011

News: Healthy Resolutions 2012 – what’s new?: It’s mid-January, and while many resolutions will still be going strong, some may have already fallen by the wayside. But it’s worth sticking to those healthy plans. Living a healthy life can make you feel more energetic and relaxed, and … Continue reading →; 23 Jan 2012
News: Podcast: Genes, lifestyle, surgery and little stars: This month, our Stratified Medicine Programme starts recruiting patients and we launch nine high tech gene projects, while researchers in the US find a way to target a key protein involved in cancer. A study shows that increasing surgery rates … Continue reading →; 22 Dec 2011
News: Our Stratified Medicine Programme – what is it and how will it work?: When breast cancer drug trastuzumab (Herceptin) became available to the NHS in 2006, many hospital pathology labs were caught on the hop. Trastuzumab is designed to treat women whose tumours contain high levels of a protein called Her2, but having … Continue reading →; 21 Nov 2011