Lung Cancer Mystery: Researchers Find Young Women More at Risk Than Men

(Photo : DENIS CHARLET / AFP) (DENIS CHARLET/AFP via Getty Images)
Researchers are looking into the mystery of high incidence of lung cancer among young women than in men, particularly in the age range of 35 to 54 years.

Researchers found evidence that suggests young women are more at risk of developing lung cancer compared to men but are struggling to understand the reason behind the higher incidence rate.

Experts said that the situation is exacerbated by a lack of awareness of the disease's effects on women. Additionally, the United States government spends significantly less money on its research into respiratory illness among women than it does on similar studies in men.

Lung Cancer Among Women

In a statement, a radiation oncologist and volunteer medical spokesperson for the American Lung Association, Dr. Andrea McKee, said that most people will think that breast cancer is the number one cancer killer among women. However, she said that this is not true and that the real culprit is actually lung cancer.

McKee attended the GO2 for Lung Cancer Conference that was held this week, which is where experts and advocates discussed the disparities for women with lung cancer and ways how to help more people recognize that the "hidden" women's cancer is a significant problem that takes the lives of roughly 164 women every day in the United States, as per CNN.

The medical professional said that lung cancer has long been considered an older man's disease, partly because men were the early target demographic for tobacco companies. Also, smoking is known as the leading cause of lung cancer among patients. Cigarettes were even a part of military rations during World War II.

Historians also noted that smoking had been largely taboo for women until the product became linked with female independence, which made them start drawing tobacco companies as well. However, those changes do not entirely account for the increases in lung cancer among the female population.

Over the last couple of decades, smoking rates have declined significantly, based on data from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, the cancer rate among women has inversely increased, especially among those who have never even smoked.

Higher Incidence Than Men

The American Cancer Society (ACS) led research that showed higher lung cancer incidence in women than in men affected those aged until 54. The findings of the study were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Oncology, according to Medical & Life Sciences News.

The researchers analyzed population-based incidence data on lung and bronchus cancers that were diagnosed from 2000 to 2019 from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program, which covered nearly half of the U.S. population.

Additionally, they categorized the cases by sex and age in five-year increments and year of diagnosis. The results showed that the declines in lung cancer incidence rates between 2000 and 2004 and 2015 and 2019 were greater in men than women. This means that there was a higher incidence in women aged 35 to 54 years.

While the disparity is relatively small, roughly one or two more cases among every 100,000 women in the age range than among men, the numbers are significant enough that researchers want to understand more about the issue, said the New York Times.