EPIDEMIOLOGY OF LUNG CANCER
Section snippets
HISTOLOGY
Lung cancer is a broad term for cancers that arise in epithelial tissue in the lining of the bronchi, but also in the trachea, bronchioles, and alveoli. The histologic classification recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1981 is most commonly used.43 Histologically, about 20% of all cases are small-cell lung cancers, also known as oat cell carcinoma, and about 80% are non–small cell lung cancers (NSCLC), with the NSCLCs divided into three subtypes: (1) large cell
International Trends
The most recent data for examining the worldwide disease burden from lung cancer are from 1990.60* Cancer of the lung is now the most frequently occurring cancer in the world, and the leading cause of cancer mortality.9, 60 In 1990, an estimated 1.04 million
RISK FACTORS
Lung cancer is unique among all malignancies in having a single risk factor that accounts for a high percentage of the attributable risk. Tobacco smoking, mainly cigarettes, accounts for approximately 90% of lung cancer risk.85 Other risks, both known and hypothesized, include exposure to certain industrial substances, such as arsenic; some organic chemicals; radon and asbestos, particularly among smokers; radiation exposure from occupational, medical, and environmental sources; pollutants in
SUMMARY
There are few relationships in the epidemiology of cancer between an exposure and disease that are as consistent as those observed between tobacco and lung cancer. The health consequences of tobacco use are not limited to lung cancer; the 1990 Surgeon General's Report described that the use of cigarettes was the leading cause of avoidable mortality in the United States, with about 434,000 preventable deaths per year.84 Although a majority of the adults in the United States are current or former
References (96)
- et al.
Lung cancer and tobacco smoking
Lung Cancer
(1995) - et al.
A common familial component in lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Lancet
(1977) The epidemiology of lung cancer in women
Ann Epidemiol
(1994)- et al.
General air pollution and cancer in the United States
Prev Med
(1980) - et al.
Early Lung Cancer Action Project: Overall design and findings from baseline screening [see comments]
Lancet
(1999) Cancer mortality in nonsmoking women with smoking husbands based on a large-scale cohort study in Japan
Prev Med
(1984)- et al.
Genetic/epidemiological findings in a study of smoking-associated tumors
Cancer Genet Cytogenet
(1982) Epidemiology of lung cancer: A worldwide epidemic
Semin Oncol Nurs
(1996)- et al.
Long-term inhalable particles and other air pollutants related to mortality in non-smokers
Am J Respir Crit Med
(1999) Cancer: Causes, Occurrence, and Control
(1990)
The effect of vitamin E and beta-carotene on the incidence of lung cancer and other cancers in male smokers
N Engl J Med
American Cancer Society Facts and Figures
Cancer Risk Report: Prevention and Control, 1999
Surveillance & Epidemiology Program 1999: Estimated New Cancer Cases by Age
Lung cancer
Cancers of the lung and pleura
Carcinoma of lung in four siblings
Cancer
Air pollution and lung cancer mortality in Harris County, Texas, 1979–1981 [see comments]
Am J Epidemiol
Changes in Cigarette-Related Disease Risks and their Implication for Prevention and Control: Smoking and Tobacco Control Monograph 8
Molecular epidemiology: A new perspective for the study of toxic exposures in man. A consideration of the influence of genetic susceptibility factors on risk in different lung cancer histologies
Med Lav
Cigarette smoking among high school students—11 states, 1991–1997
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
Tobacco addiction: Implications for treatment and cancer prevention
J Natl Cancer Inst
Diet and lung cancer. A review of the epidemiologic evidence in humans
Arch Intern Med
Atlas of Cancer Mortality in the United States: 1950–1994
Cancer surveillance series: Changing geographic patterns of lung cancer mortality in the United States, 1950 through 1994
J Natl Cancer Inst
Lung cancer and other causes of death in relation to smoking: A second report on the mortality of British doctors
BMJ
Smoking and carcinoma of the lung: A preliminary report
BMJ
The causes of cancer: Quantitative estimates of avoidable risks of cancer in the United States today
J Natl Cancer Inst
Cigarette smoking and bronchial carcinoma: Dose and time relationships among regular smokers and lifelong non-smokers
J Epidemiol Community Health
GLOBOCAN: Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide, vol IARC CancerBase No. 3
Diet and lung cancer in California Seventh-Day Adventists
Am J Epidemiol
Ex-smokers and the multistage model for lung cancer
Epidemiology
Epidemiology of lung cancer
Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg
Involuntary smoking and lung cancer: A case-control study
J Natl Cancer Inst
Evidence for age-specific genetic relative risks in lung cancer
Am J Epidemiol
Familial respiratory tract cancer: Opportunities for research and prevention
JAMA
p53 mutations and occupational exposures in a surgical series of lung cancers
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
Tobacco smoke carcinogens and lung cancer
J Natl Cancer Inst
Non-smoking wives of heavy smokers have a higher risk of lung cancer: A study from Japan
BMJ
Advances in tobacco carcinogenesis
Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology
Tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines and Areca-derived N-nitrosamines: Chemistry, biochemistry, carcinogenicity, and relevance to humans
J Toxicol Environ Health
The changing cigarette, 1950–1995
J Toxicol Environ Health
Dietary antioxidants and the risk of lung cancer [see comments]
Am J Epidemiol
International Histological Classification of Tumours
Histological Typing of Lung Tumours
Cancer statistics, 1999
CA Cancer J Clin
Cancer prevention in the workplace
Misclassification of Smoking Habits and Passive Smoking
Cited by (81)
New function of exonuclease and highly sensitive label-free colorimetric DNA detection
2016, Biosensors and BioelectronicsCitation Excerpt :Lung cancer is a major public health issue and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide (Jemal et al., 2008; Smith and Glynn, 2000).
Imaging in Oncology
2015, Clinical Radiation OncologyImaging in Oncology
2012, Clinical Radiation Oncology: Third EditionImaging in Oncology
2011, Clinical Radiation Oncology, Third EditionTimely airway stenting improves survival in patients with malignant central airway obstruction
2010, Annals of Thoracic SurgeryRadiofrequency Ablation of Lung Tumors
2010, Clinics in Chest Medicine
Address reprint requests to Robert A. Smith, PhD, American Cancer Society, 1599 Clifton Road, NE, Atlanta, GA 30329, e-mail: [email protected]
- *
American Cancer Society, Atlanta, Georgia