Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, ranking first in men and third in women for new cases and first in both sexes for deaths. Dynamic global patterns in incidence predominantly reflect past and current patterns of cigarette smoking. Incidence rates in most high-income countries have decreased substantially among men but are increasing among women. More than half of all cases occur in economically developing countries where smoking remains common, especially among men. Strong birth cohort patterns dominate temporal trends in high-income countries; these parallel birth cohort patterns in the uptake in cigarette smoking, fifty years earlier. Unlike smoking cessation, which dramatically reduces risk, design changes in cigarettes provide no health benefit. Active cigarette smoking accounts for an estimated 95% of lung cancer cases among smokers and 82% in the general population of the United States; secondhand smoke causes an estimated 7,700 lung cancer deaths among never smokers.