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Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the US. This cancer is on the rise among people who have never smoked, and more women than men are affected. It’s a distinct disease that demands its own screening strategy. That’s the warning from investigators at University College London, published in the journal Trends in Cancer.

Their concern stems from a meta-analysis of major global cancer datasets and prior screening trials. Heightened risk involve a combination of genetics, gender, family history, air pollution, radon or radiation exposure, and second hand smoke. This latter exposure increases lung cancer risk for these non-smokers by approximately 20 to 25 percent.

Diagnosing and treating lung cancer early enough to prevent mortality requires screening. In the case of heavy smokers, CT lung imaging yields a 20 percent reduction in mortality, but never-smokers typically do not qualify for this screening study under current guidelines.

The bottom line: never smokers, and that is now close to 90% of us, should undergo periodic lung imaging if there is an adverse genetic marker such as EGFR mutations, a strong family history, a history of air pollution exposure including exposure to second hand smoke, or documented radon exposure. Ask your medical team to see if you qualify and then get the imaging.

https://www.cell.com/trends/cancer/fulltext/S2405-8033(25)00315-2

https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260215/Why-lung-cancer-in-never-smokers-is-rising-and-how-targeted-detection-could-reduce-deaths.aspx

#cancer #lung #smoking #pollution #screening