A study says more non-smokers are getting lung cancer.
SAN ANTONIO — If you aren’t a smoker, you may think you are out of the woods when it comes to lung cancer.
Not only can non-smokers get it, but a new study says the number of non-smokers getting lung cancer is on the rise, but why?
Dr. DeArmond, the chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery within the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at UT Health San Antonio told us, “Nobody really knows that. In fact, the fact is, we don’t really understand why anybody gets cancer. We know that there’s a link with smoking. But not all smokers.”
Researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer and World Health Organization analyzed data from 2022 to estimate lung cancer cases. They found that adenocarcinoma, which starts in glands that produce fluids like mucus and those for digestion, is now dominant type of cancer in the world. They found that type of cancer accounted for as much as 70 percent of lung cancer cases among non-smokers worldwide.
“There are probably some genetic predispositions on people,” Dr. DeArmond added. “So it’s hard to know. There are probably other environmental factors we don’t know about other than cigarette smoking.”
The CDC says in the U.S. about 10 to 20 percent of lung cancers are found in non-smokers. That also includes people smoking less than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime. That is up to about 40,000 people every year contracting the disease. Researchers say secondhand smoke contributes to about 7,300 of those cases.
With screening not recommended, and without symptoms until later stages, how is the cancer found?
“The good news generally is that they have early-stage cancers and usually they’re caught in the process of looking for something else,” Dr. DeArmond said.
Doctors also say air pollution which has been getting worse worldwide could also be a trigger for lung cancer in non-smokers.