Stage I Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Lung cancer is the most frequent cause of cancer death in both men and women in North America, accounting for approximately 13% of all cancers diagnosed and 28% of all cancer deaths. There will be an estimated 173,770 new lung cancer cases in the United States in the year 2004 with an estimated 160,440 deaths due to lung cancer.1 Seventy-five percent of patients with bronchogenic carcinoma will be diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The number of patients with early or localized disease (currently an estimated 15-20% of NSCLC patients)2 is expected to rise over the next several years due to widespread screening with CT scanning.