Women Smokers at Increased Risk, But . . .

For years we’ve been led to believe that men are the ones who get lung cancer. But that was because men were always heavier smokers than women. And now things have changed. Women smoke as much, or more, than men, at least in several segments of the US population. A recent finding shows that they are more susceptible to developing lung cancer, too.

Data from current or former smokers over 40 who had computed tomography (CT) scanning for lung cancer were analyzed. 7500 women and 9500 men were found to have 156 and 113 cases of lung cancer, respectively. After adjusting for differences in age and smoking history, women were shown to have almost twice the likelihood of developing lung cancer as men. It seems women are just more susceptible to the carcinogens in cigarettes, but the reason for this is unknown.

The one piece of good news from this study is that women are less likely to die from their lung cancer than men. This had been documented previously, but was confirmed in this study. Again, however, there’s no good explanation for this finding.

Despite lack of explanations, the consequences are pretty clear. Women need to be educated that they are at higher risk than men, and should probably begin being screen for cancer earlier than before. And, of course, everyone should stop smoking!