Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, lung cancer was responsible for 1.8 million deaths — 18% of cancer deaths — in 2020 alone. Despite these staggering numbers, lung cancer often receives less attention than other cancers, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
While tobacco remains a major driver of lung cancer, there are other known and unknown risk factors. For example, emerging information shows rising cases linked to air pollution and other environmental factors. Adenocarcinoma — a cancer that starts in the gland cells of the lungs — now accounts for nearly 46% of lung cancer cases in men and 60% in women globally, reflecting these shifts in the disease’s risk profile.
For decades, the narrative was one of inevitability and despair. Today, that is rapidly changing in high-income countries. Advances in prevention, early detection, and treatment are rewriting the story — but only if we act with urgency and with the lens of global health equity at the forefront.
In the United States, the five-year survival rate for lung cancer has improved to nearly 30%, representing a 26% increase over the past five years, based on the latest surveillance, epidemiology, and end results, or SEER, database. Yet fewer than one-third of cases are diagnosed at an early stage, when five-year survival can reach about 60%. Evidence from long-term studies shows that lung cancers detected through low-dose CT screening can achieve survival rates of 80% or higher over 20 years. These numbers underscore a simple truth: Early diagnosis saves lives.
The challenge is even greater in sub-Saharan Africa, where lung cancer often remains underdiagnosed due to symptom overlap with infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, or TB, and limited diagnostic capacity.
As a result, lung cancer cases are frequently misclassified as tuberculosis, or never recorded at all — creating the false impression of low burden while delaying care and eliminating opportunities for early intervention.
The Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, or BMS Foundation, in partnership with organizations such as the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, or IASLC, is working to change this reality in different regions and through different partners.
By integrating lung cancer screening into TB programs, training local health care workers, and leveraging existing HIV diagnostic frameworks for cancer care pathways, we can build sustainable solutions. With the collaboration of local ministries of health, it can then be scaled across the African continent.
“A world where no one dies needlessly from lung cancer is achievable — but only if we stop missing the disease in the first place. Early diagnosis, supported by strong local systems, is what turns lung cancer from a death sentence into a survivable condition.”
— Dr. Raymond Osarogiagbon, chief scientist, Baptist Memorial Health Care CorporationDuring a recent BMS Foundation visit to Africa, team members witnessed firsthand the impact of strategic partnerships, including increasing the number of early diagnoses and decreasing travel time for cancer care. These programs demonstrate that sustainable solutions are possible when philanthropy, governments, and local health systems work together.
“Equity in lung cancer care starts with an early diagnosis. When we invest in local capacity and sustainable health systems, we give communities the tools to detect disease sooner — and the chance to save more lives,” said Catharine Grimes, president of the BMS Foundation.
Making a lasting impact on global health requires local commitment and empowerment through project ownership. Philanthropy can catalyze progress, but local governments and communities must lead and sustain.
At the BMS Foundation, workforce development is supported through training to help establish health systems that endure. As learned from the success of HIV/AIDS programs, investments in infrastructure and community efforts create ripple effects that strengthen entire health systems. The same approach can accelerate lung cancer control — if sustainability is prioritized from the start.
Lung cancer care is not a single intervention — it is a continuum. From imaging and biopsy to staging, referral, and treatment planning, progress depends on coordination across specialties, facilities, and data systems.
In resource-constrained settings, these links are often the weakest point. Strategic philanthropy plays a critical role by strengthening the connective tissue of health systems — supporting workforce development, diagnostic pathways, and data infrastructure so early diagnosis becomes routine rather than exceptional.
Drawing from experience, several practical strategies have emerged for reducing lung cancer mortality:
• Integrate early detection into existing care pathways: Rather than relying solely on formal screening programs, embed lung cancer suspicion and referral into TB and HIV clinics — where patients already seek care and systems already exist.
• Invest in local workforce development: Prioritize training and retaining local health professionals to ensure sustainability and culturally relevant care.
• Build data where none exists: Support clinicians and health systems to collect, stage, and track lung cancer cases locally — making patients visible in the evidence base that shapes clinical guidelines, investment decisions, and policy.
• Foster cross-sector partnerships: Collaborate with governments, nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, and the private sector to pool resources, share expertise, and scale what works.
• Design for real-world constraints: In settings where imaging, pathology, and specialist care are limited, pragmatic adaptations — not idealized models — are essential to achieving earlier diagnosis and sustainable impact.
These efforts in Africa are not peripheral to the global lung cancer fight — they are central to it. By confronting underdiagnosis, strengthening diagnostic pathways, and generating local data in resource-constrained settings, partners are testing approaches that can inform lung cancer control everywhere. What works in the most complex environments often proves adaptable, scalable, and resilient across health systems worldwide.
We are at a pivotal moment. The tools to transform lung cancer outcomes exist, and now is the time for funders, governments, practitioners, and the entire global health community to act. Prioritize early detection, invest in local capacity, and share lessons learned across borders. Sustainable progress against lung cancer will require bold partnerships and collaborations, data-driven strategies, and a commitment to equity.
Our vision is bold but achievable: A world where no one dies needlessly from lung cancer, regardless of geography. By combining scientific rigor, local leadership, and global solidarity, we can turn the tide against lung cancer — one community at a time.
Visit the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation website for more information on the Multinational Lung Cancer Control Program, or MLCCP, and how it is poised to bridge critical gaps in care.