Each year 3500 new patients in Denmark are diagnosed with lung cancer. This makes lung cancer the second most common cancer in Denmark. In Europe lung cancer is the most common cancer with an estimated 377 000 new cases each year. Lung cancer has a poor prognosis with a 5 year relative survival rate of approximately 10 % in Europe and 15 % in USA. The survival rate in Denmark has been inferior to that of other Nordic countries, partly because of unfavorable stage distribution at the time of diagnosis. Lately there has been an improvement in one year relative survival rate, because more patients are offered life prolonging chemotherapy, but with no influence on the 5-year survival rate.