OUTLOOK 27 May 2026 Early detection, innovative drugs and a better understanding of lung cancer is resulting in improved outcomes for people with the disease. By Herb Brody Chief supplements editor You have full access to this article via your institution. Illustration: Rowena Sheehan A cancer diagnosis of any kind portends a rough road ahead, but that has been especially true of lung cancer. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.8 million people died from lung cancer in 2022. That is around 900,000 more deaths than were caused by the next most lethal malignancy: colorectal cancer. Nature Outlook: Lung cancer Lung cancer has long been associated with tobacco smoking. As smoking has fallen out of favour over the past few decades, it might be expected that the disease would lose its grim primacy. But people who have never smoked get lung cancer too — in Asia, this group accounts for around 30% of cases. A large proportion of people who have never smoked but have the disease are women.…