People in England and Wales are waiting on average 25 days longer than they should to receive treatment for lung cancer, a new report has revealed.
According to the National Lung Cancer Audit’s State of the Nation Report 2025, the average waiting time for patients undergoing surgery in England was 83 days and 66 days for systemic anti-cancer treatment.
In Wales, patients waited an average of 97 days for surgery and 78 days for systemic anti-cancer therapy, such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy or targeted treatments. That is well beyond the targets. In England, doctors aim to start treatment within 49 days of a patient’s first appointment with a lung cancer specialist. In Wales, the target is 62 days.
Paula Chadwick, chief executive of Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation, said:
“It is incredibly disappointing to see lung cancer patients waiting so long for treatments.
“Lung cancer is an aggressive disease, and any delays to diagnosis or treatment can have devastating consequences – not just physically but on a person’s mental health too. Knowing you have lung cancer and having to wait for treatment is agonising.
“But this is why the National Lung Cancer Audit is so crucial, and why we are proud to support the NLCA team and help shape the report’s recommendations. By highlighting the issues patients are facing, we fully understand what needs to improve and can take action.”
The National Lung Cancer Audit aims to improve the quality of care for people with lung cancer in England and Wales. This includes being diagnosed with lung cancer, having treatment, including surgery, and living beyond lung cancer.
Key findings
40,084
people were diagnosed with lung cancer in England and Wales in 2023.
I in 10
people diagnosed with lung cancer in 2023 had never smoked.
74
was the average age of a lung cancer patient.
9 in 20
were diagnosed with late-stage disease.
3 in 10
people were diagnosed through emergency presentation at A&E.
8 in 10
people with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer received surgery or radiotherapy which aimed to cure the disease.
14 in 20
people with small cell lung cancer received chemotherapy.
6 in 10
people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer had systemic anti-cancer therapy, such as chemotherapy, targeted therapy or immunotherapy.
330
was the average survival rate for a lung cancer patient in England and Wales.
Report recommendations
- Maximise the uptake of lung cancer screening for people aged 55 to 74 who are at high risk of lung cancer. This should help us to diagnose lung cancer at an early stage.
- Make sure that hospitals have the capacity to perform surgery for patients with early-stage NSCLC. The targeted lung health checks will increase the number of patients having lung cancer surgery.
- Find ways to improve the proportion of patients with advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer receiving systemic anti-cancer therapy. Such as helping people keep their fitness throughout the care pathway.
- Improve the waiting times from referral to lung cancer services to the start lung cancer treatment
- Make sure genetic, biomarker and molecular test results are ready within 14 days of the biopsy.
“Clearly, we must find ways reduce waiting times for treatment. “However, we should not overlook the improvements being made,” Paula concludes.
“Early detection is improving, with more people being diagnosed at an earlier stage than ever before. As a result, the proportion of people having curative-intent surgery is also increasing. In 2023, surgeons carried out more lung cancer operations than ever before. We expect this number to keep rising as screening expands.
As a charity, it is our aim to see similar improvements in early detection in the symptomatic pathway. Over 4000 diagnosed with lung cancer in 2023 have never smoked and so would not currently benefit from screening.
“We need to help people with symptoms get diagnosed earlier. That includes chest X-ray self-referral programmes and our work to dispel dangerous misconceptions about the disease.”This, we believe, is the key to transforming outcomes for lung cancer, reducing diagnosis through A&E, improving survival rates and, ultimately, saving lives.”
Donate Now
Make a lasting impact
Set up a regular donation today and help change lives every month.
£10 a month for a year provides 48 people who have just been diagnosed, with copies of our information about lung cancer, treatments and support.
Your gift today can change a life
Make a donation and bring hope to those living with lung cancer
£25 allows us to provide one to one calls with two people affected by lung cancer, offering essential medical, practical, and emotional support.