Long-term Survivors of Lung Cancer

Introduction: Lung cancer (LC) is one of the most frequent tumors and remains the leading cause of cancer-related death. Improvements in treatment and the possible increase in cases diagnosed at early stages through screening programs mean that the number of long-term survivors of lung cancer is expected to increase. Objective: To review the concept of long-term survival in lung cancer and the clinical, psychosocial, and follow-up needs of this growing population of patients. Methods: A narrative review was prepared based on epidemiological data, clinical studies, and consensus documents on long-term survivors of lung cancer, particularly non-small cell lung cancer. The literature search was conducted across the PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library databases. The search strategy employed MeSH terms and keywords including "Lung Neoplasms", "Survivors", "Long-Term Survivors", "Mass Screening", and "Primary Health Care", limited to articles published in English and Spanish. Results: Survival is strongly conditioned by stage at diagnosis. There is no single definition of long-term survivor: in early-stage non-small cell lung cancer is usually defined as survival of 5 years or more, whereas in advanced or metastatic disease definitions vary between 18 months and 3 years. Long-term survivors may present recurrence or progression, second neoplasms, comorbidities related to smoking, immune-mediated toxicities, pain, fatigue, anxiety, depression, and difficulties in social and occupational reintegration. Conclusions: The increasing number of long-term lung cancer survivors requires coordinated follow-up between primary care, hospital care, social and health services, patients, and families. Smoking cessation, management of comorbidities, physical exercise, psychological support, nutritional interventions, and monitoring of treatment-related toxicity should be integral parts of care.