Despite progress in the detection and treatment of bladder cancer (BC), it remains one of the common cancer diagnoses. Updated estimates of its epidemiology and mortality are needed to better understand the BC burden in Germany. This research aims to estimate the incidence/prevalence of BC in Germany and to describe trends in mortality in the last eleven years.

OBJECTIVES: To describe recent trends in lung cancer incidence, staging, morphology, and survival outcomes in Germany using comprehensive population-based data from the German Centre for Cancer Registry Data (ZfKD).

METHODS: This retrospective analysis included all lung cancer cases diagnosed from 2020 to 2023 in individuals aged 18 years or older. Anonymized data were sourced from the ZfKD, which compiles mandatory cancer notifications across the German federal states. Variables analyzed included patient demographics, tumor characteristics (histological subtype, stage), and Kaplan-Meier-based survival estimates stratified by cancer subtype and stage.

RESULTS: A total of 222,366 lung cancer cases were recorded, with incidence per 100 adults of 0.081, 0.082, 0.081, and 0.077 in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023, respectively. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) accounted for 82.6% of cases, while small cell lung cancer (SCLC) made up 13.8%. NSCLC patients were older at diagnosis than those with SCLC (mean 70.2 vs. 68.5 years). Stage IV was the most common at diagnosis (41% in NSCLC, 59% in SCLC). Median survival was 12.8 months for NSCLC and 8.1 months for SCLC, dropping to 6.5 and 6.8 months, respectively, in stage IV disease. Adenocarcinoma was the most frequent NSCLC subtype (40.5%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (15.7%).

CONCLUSION: Late-stage lung cancer diagnosis remains common and contributes to poor short-term survival. These findings underscore the need for earlier detection strategies and continued research into treatment pathways and outcomes.