Mapping of global, regional and national incidence, mortality and mortality-to-incidence ratio of lung cancer in 2020 and 2050

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. This study examines the current and future burden of lung cancer at global, regional, and national levels.The estimates of lung cancer incident cases, deaths, and their age-standardized rates are drawn from GLOBOCAN 2020 for 21 regions and 185 countries. Mortality-to-incidence ratio (MIR) is considered as a proxy indicator of 5-year survival rates. Lung cancer burden in 2050 is projected using age-specific incidence and death rates in 2020.In 2020, there were 2.21 million new cases and 1.8 million deaths due to lung cancer worldwide with age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of 22.4/100,000 (male: 31.5; female: 14.6) and age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) of 18.0/100,000, (male: 25.9; female: 11.2/100,000). Global MIR of lung cancer was 0.82 (males 0.83; females: 0.79), varying from 0.59 (Japan) to 1.0 (Belize). Hungary had the highest age-standardized rates (ASIR: 50.1/100,000; ASMR: 42.4/100,000) and Nigeria (ASIR: 0.88; ASMR: 0.86) had the lowest age-standardized rates in 2020. Both ASIR and ASMR were positively correlated with country-level tobacco smoking prevalence and human development index (HDI), whereas MIR exhibited a negative correlation with HDI. As per our projections, there will be 3.8 million incident cases and 3.2 million deaths globally due to lung cancer in 2050.With close to 2 million cases and deaths already in 2020, lung cancer has already become a global public health threat. Even with current risk levels and age-specific rates, lung cancer annual cases are expected to reach 3.8 million in 2050. Until smoking prevalence is reduced and ambient air pollution levels are checked, particularly in low/medium HDI countries, the lung cancer epidemic will continue unfolding.