According to a KBP study, 12.6% of lung cancers in 2020 are related to non-smokers. The trend observed in women is confirmed with the increase in cases.
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Can lung cancer become female cancer? This is what the “KBP-2020” study on primary bronchopulmonary cancer indicates. The results of this study were reported at the French Language Pneumology Congress held in Lille from January 21 to 23, 2022.
“exponential” growth in women
In 2018, lung cancer affected 15,132 women, making it now the third most common cancer among women.
“If we had already observed a sharp increase in this cancer in women between 2000 and 2010, this observation is confirmed, and unfortunately beyond our predictions.” Explains in a press release Dr. Didier Debeauver, principal investigator of the KBP study, at Mulhouse E. Mueller Hospital’s department of pulmonology and president of the College of Pneumologists of General Hospitals.
In 2000, women accounted for 16% of lung cancer cases, up from 24% in 2010 and rising to 34.6% in 2020. A worrying exponential increase in relation to the increase in smoking among women. This trend is even more pronounced in patients under 50 years of age as they represent 40% of new cases of lung cancer.
Increase in cases among non-smokers
The proportion of non-smokers has almost doubled in twenty years. While they represented 7.2% of patients in 2000, then 10.9% in 2010, 12.6% of non-smokers were affected in 2020.
Tobacco causes 80% of lung cancers. Genetic, environmental or occupational factors such as asbestos also play a role in the occurrence of the disease.
Cannabis, a risk factor in young people
Cannabis is one of the new risk factors analyzed: it was not actually taken into account in previous KBP studies. According to the study report, 3.6% of the patients diagnosed are cannabis smokers. ,So the intuition we had in our clinical practice is well confirmed.“, describes Dr. Debeauver.
Cannabis is a risk factor especially for patients under 50 years of age. One third of them are or have been regular cannabis users.
late diagnosis
In 2018, 46,363 new cases of lung cancer were diagnosed. The median age of diagnosis is 67 for men and 65 for women.
Therefore, as we see, cancer is always diagnosed at a very advanced stage – Dr. Debeauver.
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Pulmonologists emphasize: systematic screening should be carried out systematically in at-risk patients: “This will make it possible to diagnose at an earlier stage and optimize the chances of recovery.”, recalls Dr. Debeauver. To date, these recommendations have not been validated by the HAS.
read also , Lung cancer: Organized screening will reduce mortality by at least 25%
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