March 20, 2023 — One in 17 women will develop lung cancer of their lifetime. Cigarettes are a known risk factor for lung cancer, and plenty of women hand over smoking for that reason. However, a recently published Spanish study reported that non-smoker women are two-thirds more prone to develop the disease than never-smoker men.
Lung cancer kills more women than uterine, breast and ovarian cancer combined, based on Andrea WolfAssociate Professor of Thoracic Surgery on the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City and Director of the New York Mesothelioma Program at Mount Sinai Health System.
“At least 20% of newly diagnosed women are non-smokers, and based on my research, I would say that number is as high as 25%,” she says.
What aspects could predict lung cancer in non-smokers? A brand new study A study by Chinese researchers found that possible reasons for the increased diagnosis in women include genetic aspects (if a parent or sibling had lung cancer), hormonal changes akin to those during menopause or benign breast disease, and a history of chronic respiratory disease.
While it's necessary to not panic with regards to lung cancer risk aspects which might be outside of your control, it's necessary to know the right way to reduce certain exposures that could cause lung cancer and what signs of the disease to look out for.
What causes lung cancer in non-smoking women?
“The mechanisms by which women who have never smoked develop lung cancer are not yet fully understood,” says Charu Aggarwal, MD, MPHLung cancer specialist at Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia and associate director of the Penn Center for Precision Medicine. “There do indeed seem to be hormonal risk factors, but there is not enough research yet to fully understand the cause.”
Researchers from Brazil recently described a lot of possible causes of the disease in non-smokers; a few of them are well documented, others are more surprising. These causes include:
- Outdoor pollution
- radonan odorless, colorless gas that may accumulate indoors
- Exposure to certain chemicals in your workplace, akin to silicon, arsenic, nickel, cadmium and chromium
- Alcohol consumption (previous Research has linked a better risk of disease with frequent beer consumption. Beer drinkers are thought to have an unhealthier lifestyle on the whole, and this will explain the association.)
- Smoke from a wood stove
Certain elements of your loved ones history could also be more necessary.
“Having more than one first-degree relative further increases your risk,” says Wolf. “If you grew up in a home where your parents smoked, that can also increase your risk. Make sure you minimize your exposure to secondhand smoke now.”
What are the symptoms of lung cancer in non-smoking women?
According to Mayo Clinic DataLung cancer often causes no symptoms within the early stages. As the cancer progresses, it’s best to search for the next signs:
- A brand new and protracted cough
- Coughing up any amount of blood
- shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- A hoarse voice
- Unintentional weight reduction
- Bone pain
- Headache
How is lung cancer diagnosed in women?
Non-smokers are advised to not undergo lung cancer screenings. And all currently available genetic screenings are of only limited use for diagnosis.
“There does not seem to be a single gene mutation that is as strongly associated with lung cancer risk as BRCA1 for breast cancer, the genetic predisposition for other cancers,” says Robert Smith, PhDSenior Vice President for Cancer Prevention on the American Cancer Society. “Gene mutations in tumor tissue affect the response to therapy. Even if these are found in cancer patients, they usually mean that these patients respond well to therapy if they develop cancer, not that they have a measurably higher risk of developing lung cancer.”
However, if you happen to experience symptoms that might indicate lung cancer, it’s best to see your doctor immediately and have a low-dose computed tomography scan.
“The earlier the diagnosis is made, the more time there is for targeted therapy,” says Aggarwal.
According to the CDC, The most typical sorts of lung cancer in non-smokers are adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.
In non-smokers, cancer tends to progress more slowly.
“Women who don't smoke have a better prognosis for lung cancer,” says Wolf. “The good news is that the type of cancer they get is the most favorable in terms of outcome. Their cancer usually progresses slowly, over years to decades. Early detection gives you time to work out a plan with your doctor.”
How is lung cancer treated in non-smoking women?
New therapies help women lead fulfilling lives despite treatable lung cancer.
“One of the most important things a newly diagnosed lung cancer patient should have is a Biomarker test,” says Aggarwal. “The earlier the diagnosis is made, the more time there is for targeted therapy.”
Targeted therapy focuses on abnormalities in some tumors; its goal is to forestall healthy cells from being damaged by the cancer. The biomarker test “studies” a tumor in order that treatment will be tailored specifically to it, based on the American Lung Association.
In the long run, simpler screening tests will even enable non-smoking women with lung cancer to realize higher prognoses.
“One day we may be able to identify people who are non-smokers but have a set of risk factors that increase their risk enough to warrant screening at a certain age,” Smith says. “To do that, we would need to be able to measure those risk factors with sufficient accuracy, which is a big challenge, and update those measurements regularly.”
For now, it's good to know that many ladies are doing well after their diagnosis. “There have been major advances in lung cancer research and treatment in the last 15 to 20 years,” Wolf concludes. “There are many reasons to be optimistic.”