Survival for Lung NETs
Survival for lung neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) depends on different factors. So no one call tell you exactly how long you will live.
These are general statistics based on large groups of people. Remember, they can’t tell you what will happen in your individual case.
Your doctor can give you more information about your own outlook (prognosis).
About these statistics
The terms 1 year, 5 year and 10 year survival don't mean that you will only live for 1, 5 or 10 years.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) and researchers collect information. They watch what happens to people with cancer in the years after their diagnosis. 5 or 10 years is a common time point to measure survival. But some people live much longer than this.
5 or 10 year survival is the number of people who have not died from their cancer within 5 or 10 years after diagnosis.
Survival for typical carcinoid (TC)
There are no UK-wide statistics available for typical carcinoid. The statistics below are from an American study. Please be aware that due to differences in health care systems, data collection and the population, these figures may not be a true picture of survival in the UK.
Stage 1 typical carcinoid
Around 95 out of 100 people (around 95%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more
Stage 2 typical carcinoid
85 out of 100 people (85%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more
Stage 3 typical carcinoid
Around 80 out of 100 people (around 80%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more
Stage 4 typical carcinoid
Around 60 out of 100 people (around 60%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more
These 10 year survival statistics were taken from an American study that looked at 4,254 people diagnosed with TC between 2000 and 2013.
Evaluation of the prognostic significance of TNM staging guidelines in lung carcinoids
J Yoon and others
Journal of thoracic oncology February 2019, Volume 14, Issue 2, pages 184 – 192
These statistics are for disease-specific survival. They do not include patients who died from causes other than typical carcinoid.
Survival for atypical carcinoid (AC)
There are no UK-wide statistics available for people with atypical carcinoid. The statistics below are from an American study. Please be aware that due to differences in health care systems, data collection and the population, these figures may not be a true picture of survival in the UK.
Stage 1 atypical carcinoid
Almost 90 out of 100 people (almost 90%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more
Stage 2 atypical carcinoid
Around 75 out of 100 people (around 75%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more
Stage 3 atypical carcinoid
Almost 50 out of 100 people (almost 50%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more
Stage 4 atypical carcinoid
Around 20 out of 100 people (around 20%) survive their cancer for 10 years or more
These 10 year survival statistics were taken from an American study that looked at 391 people diagnosed with AC between 2000 and 2013.
Evaluation of the prognostic significance of TNM staging guidelines in lung carcinoids
J Yoon and others
Journal of thoracic oncology February 2019, Volume 14, Issue 2, pages 184 – 192
These statistics are for disease specific survival. They do not include patients who died from causes other than atypical carcinoid.
Survival for large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC)
There are no UK-wide statistics available for people with LCNEC. The statistics below are from an American study. Please be aware that due to differences in health care systems, data collection and the population, these figures may not be a true picture of survival in the UK.
- Around 20 out of 100 people (around 20%) with LCNEC survive their cancer for 5 years or more
These 5 year survival statistics were taken from a study that looked at 2,097 people diagnosed with LCNEC in America, between 2000 and 2013.
Lung large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma. An analysis of patients from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End- Results (SEER) database
C Deng and others
Medical Science Monitor May 2019 Volume25, pages 3636–3646.
These statistics are for disease-specific survival. They do not include patients who died from causes other than large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma.
Survival for small cell lung cancer (SCLC)
The survival of SCLC sadly hasn’t improved much in the last 25 years. Most people with SCLC are diagnosed when their cancer has spread beyond a single area that can be treated with radiotherapy (extensive stage).
There are no UK-wide statistics available for people with small cell lung cancer. The statistics below are from a Danish study. Please be aware that due to differences in health care systems, data collection and the population, these figures may not be a true picture of survival in the UK.
Limited stage SCLC
15 out of every 100 people (15%) with limited stage SCLC survive for 5 years or more.
Extensive stage SCLC
Only 2 of every 100 people (only 2%) with extensive stage SCLC survive 5 years or more.
These 5 year survival statistics were taken from a study that looked at 6,353 people diagnosed with small cell lung cancer in Denmark between 2006 and 2015.
Treatment patterns and survival for small cell lung cancer patients. A nationwide Danish registry study.
A green and others
Annals of Oncology September 2020, Volume 31, Supplement 4, S1040 (abstract only)
What affects survival
Survival depends on many factors. It depends on the type of lung NET, its stage and the grade of the tumour when it was diagnosed. The stage describes the size of the tumour and whether it has spread. The grade means how abnormal the cells looks under a microscope.
Another factor is how well you are overall.
This page is due for review. We will update this as soon as possible.
