Updated March 11, 2015.
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Question: What is Squamous Cell Lung Cancer Prognosis?
Answer:
Before answering the question “what is squamous cell lung cancer prognosis,” it is important to talk about what these numbers mean. First of all, everyone is different. Statistics tell us what the “average” course or survival is, but they don’t tell us anything about specific individuals. Many factors can affect the prognosis of squamous cell lung cancer.
It is also helpful to keep in mind that statistics are based on information that may be several years old. As new treatments become available, these numbers may not accurately reflect what your prognosis is today.
Squamous Cell Lung Cancer Prognosis - Variables
Some of the factors that can affect prognosis include:
- The stage of your cancer – Early stage squamous cell carcinoma (for example, stage 1 or stage 2) has a better prognosis than later stage cancers (such as stage 3 or stage 4).
- Your age – Younger people tend to live longer than older people with lung cancer.
- Your sex – The life expectancy for women with lung cancer is higher at each stage of the disease.
- Your general health at the time of diagnosis – Being healthy overall at the time of diagnosis is associated with a longer life expectancy, and a greater ability to withstand treatments that may extend survival.
- How you respond to treatment – Side effects of treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapies, and radiation therapy vary among different people, and may limit your ability to tolerate treatment.
- Other health conditions you may have – Health conditions, such as emphysema, may lower lung cancer life expectancy.
- Complications of lung cancer – Complications, such as blood clots, can lower lung cancer life expectancy.
Squamous Cell Lung Cancer Prognosis - Statistics
In addition to variations between different people, prognosis can change with time as better treatments become available.
Squamous cell carcinoma can spread to different organs like: bones, adrenal glands, the liver, small intestine, or brain, and the prognosis for the advanced stage of this type of lung cancer is not good. However, five-year survival rates as high as 35 to 40 percent for those cases in which the lung cancer has been noted to be localized and it was removed in its early stage.
Most of the statistics we have look at all types of non-small cell lung cancer grouped together. Of these, the prognosis for squamous cell carcinoma is somewhat lower than that for adenocarcinoma, but more optimistic than for large cell lung cancer.
That said, the average 5-year survival rates for non-small cell lung cancer are:
- Stage 1 – 49% for stage 1A and 45% for stage 1B
- Stage 2 – 30% for stage 2B and 30% for stage 2B
- Stage 3 – 14% for stage 3A and 5% for stage 3B
- Stage 4 (Metastatic) – roughly 1%
According to the stage, some of the patients with non-metastatic squamous cell cancer can be cured. In general, metastatic squamous cell cancer is not curable but it is treatable. Chemotherapy, for example, may improve survival and also help with the symptoms of lung cancer as well. Several treatments are currently being evaluated in clinical trials, and offer hope that squamous cell carcinoma of the lungs prognosis will improve in the future.
Further Reading:
Sources:
American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2014. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2014. http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/content/@research/documents/webcontent/acspc-042151.pdf
American Cancer Society. Lung Cancer (Non-Small Cell.) Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Survival Rates by Stage. 03/03/15. http://www.cancer.org/cancer/lungcancer-non-smallcell/detailedguide/non-small-cell-lung-cancer-survival-rates
National Cancer Institute. Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment (PDQ). Updated 08/06/14. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/treatment/non-small-cell-lung/Patient
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