Lung Cancer Deaths in Non Smokers

WebMD today shared the results of an American Cancer Society research study that showed that the mortality incidence in men is higher than women in lung cancer among non smokers. While there are no clear answers as to why, the following information was noted:

• Men died more from lung cancer than did women in all age and racial groups studied.
• Women and men 40 years old and older had similar rates of lung cancer, when the figures were standardized.
• African-Americans — and Asians living in Korea and Japan — had higher death rates from lung cancer than did people of European extraction.
• There were no time trends seen when researchers compared lung cancer rates and death rates among U.S. women ages 40 to 69 during the 1930s to nonsmoking women of today’s population.
• Women in East Asia had higher and more variable lung cancer rates than did women in other areas of the world where women don’t smoke very much.

Lung Cancer Facts From The American Cancer Society:

Lung cancer is by far the leading cause of cancer death among both men and women. There will be an estimated 161,840 deaths from lung cancer (90,810 among men and 71,030 among women) in 2008, accounting for around 29% of all cancer deaths. More people die of lung cancer than of colon, breast, and prostate cancers combined.

Risk Factors for Lung Cancer From Mayo Clinic:

• Tobacco use
• Second Hand Smoke Exposure
• Sex: Females (possibly due to estrogen) have a greater risk
• Exposure to Radon
• Exposure to Asbestos
• Family History
• Excessive Alcohol Use

What About That Second Hand Smoke?

Live with a smoker? Your risk of lung cancer increases by twenty to thirty percent. And–more than 3,000 people die each year from exposure to second hand smoke.

Need more facts? See the National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet