"Lung cancer presents a series of unique problems related to the virulence of the cancer itself and the response of the medical, scientific, and lay communities to its devastating impact on society. The lung defines our ability to breathe, and the loss of this capacity is one of the most frightening of all medical symptoms. Because it is a disease primarily of older patients who have smoked, lung cancer's negative impact on breathing compounds the concurrent effects of chronic smoking-related obstructive pulmonary disease and coronary artery disease. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women and kills more patients than the next five most common cancers combined. Fully 85 percent of the patients who develop lung cancer die from it."

"Ultimately, progress against lung cancer will depend on a concerted, multidisciplinary effort. The priorities outlined in the Report of the Lung Cancer PRG provide a framework for such an effort. It is hoped that, by fully addressing these priorities, we will effect a marked improvement in the understanding, prevention, detection, and treatment of lung cancer."

(From Report of the Lung Cancer Progress Review Group)