Lung Cancer Survivorship: Challenges and Care Needs

Advances in lung cancer treatment have progressively improved survival across all disease stages. Some patients now achieve long-term survival, while others may remain on treatment for several years, particularly with immune checkpoint inhibitors and selected tyrosine kinase inhibitors. These advances have increased recognition of the survivorship needs of patients with lung cancer, including persistent symptoms, treatment-related toxicities, and social, psychological, and caregiver-related concerns. The integration of palliative care has also become increasingly relevant, reflecting a shift in the traditional care paradigm by extending supportive approaches beyond the end-of-life setting to patients living long-term with active disease. However, evidence and care models addressing lung cancer survivorship remain fragmented and focus predominantly on patients treated with curative intent. This narrative review provides a comprehensive overview of survivorship in lung cancer, from screening and early-stage to locally advanced and metastatic disease, while also examining more cross-cutting physical, psychological and social domains. Greater recognition and systematic assessment of these needs is essential to develop structured, coordinated, and personalized survivorship pathways for the growing and clinically heterogeneous population of individuals living with and beyond lung cancer.