STORIES OF STRENGTH
Causes
Causes of Lung Cancer
- Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer.1
- Exposure to radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, and the leading cause in people who have never smoked.3 For more information about radon and testing your home, please visit EPA.gov/radon.
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Other risk factors include:1
- lung scarring from tuberculosis
- occupational or environmental exposure to:
• secondhand smoke
• radiation
• asbestos
• air pollution
• arsenic
• some organic chemicals
- Genetic predisposition may also play a role in lung cancer development.1
- Between 20,000 to 30,000 people who have never smoked are diagnosed with lung cancer in the U.S. each year.5
- As more people quit smoking, the percentage of cancers diagnosed in people who used to smoke will continue to increase.6
References
1 American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts and Figures 2013. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2013.
2 SEER Stat Fact Sheets. Surveillance Research Program, National Cancer Institute. http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/.
3 National Research Council. Health Effects of Exposure to Radon: BEIR VI. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1999.
4 Burns DM. Primary prevention, smoking, and smoking cessation: Implications for future trends in lung cancer prevention. Cancer, 2000. 89:2506–2509.
5 Thun, MJ, et al. Lung Cancer Occurrence in Never-Smokers: An Analysis of 13 Cohorts and 22 Cancer Registry Studies. PLOS Medicine, 2008. 5(9): e185. Doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050185.
6 Satcher, D, Thompson, TG and Kaplan, JP. Women and smoking: a report of the Surgeon General. Nicotine Tob Res, 2002. 4(1): 7-20.
7 National Lung Cancer Screening Trial, National Cancer Institute. Information at http://www.cancer.gov/newscenter/pressreleases/2011/NLSTprimaryNEJM. Accessed April 30, 2012.
8 NIH Spending for FY012: NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool. Available at http://report.nih.gov/rcdc/categories/.
9 Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs 2012 Annual Report: Available at http://cdmrp.army.mil/pubs/annreports/2012annrep/2012annreport.pdf.
