Lung Cancer in Women

Lung cancer in women differs from lung cancer in men in many ways. Yet, despite obvious differences in our appearance, we tend to lump men and women together when talking about lung cancer. This is unfortunate, since the causes, response to various treatments, survival rate, and even symptoms to watch for differ. What are some facts about lung cancer in women?

Statistics About Lung Cancer in Women

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women, killing more women each year than breast cancer, uterine cancer, and ovarian cancer combined. While smoking is the number one cause, 20% of these women have never touched a cigarette. Once considered a “man’s disease,” lung cancer is no longer discriminatory. In 2005, the last year for which we have statistics, 82,271 women (vs 107,416 men) were diagnosed with lung cancer, and 69,078 (vs 90,139 men) died.
While lung cancer diagnoses decreased each year from 1991-2005 for men, the incidence increased 0.5% each year for women. The reason for this is not completely clear.
Lung cancer in women occurs at a slightly younger age, and almost half of lung cancers in people under 50 occur in women.

Causes of Lung Cancer in Women

Even though smoking is the number one cause of lung cancer in women, a higher percentage of women who develop lung cancer are life-long non-smokers. Some of the causes may include exposure to radon in our homes, secondhand smoke, other environmental and occupational exposures, or a genetic predisposition. Recent studies suggest infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV) may also play a role.
reference:http://lungcancer.about.com/od/whatislungcancer/a/lungcancerwomen.htm