Objective:

To describe temporal trends in lung cancer incidence, mortality and associated health care costs in the Mexican Institute of Social Security.

Materials and methods:

Incident cases were estimated from hospital discharges in 276 IMSS hospitals between 2006 and 2016. Crude and adjusted mortality rates were calculated. The costs of outpatient and inpatient treatment were calculated based on the medical-technical costs of reference o standard cost.

Results:

Both incidence and mortality had a decreased time trend. The cost of medical care for the 2 539 patients in 2017 was 42 million US dollars, with an average cost per patient of 16 537 US dollars. The cost per annum of disability pensions is 97.2 million pesos.

Conclusions:

It is likely that the reduction of the risk of getting sick and dying from lung cancer in IMSS affiliates is due to the control measures of tobacco smoke. It is still necessary to establish strategies to diagnose and treat patients in early stages.