Study finds alarming increase in lung cancer among non-smokers, women, and children

Dr. Arvind Kumar, the Institute of Chest Surgery, Chest Onco-surgery, and Lung Transplantation Chairman at Medanta Hospital Gurugram, commented on the study, “I am shocked at the alarming rise in Lung cancer cases and occurrences in younger individuals, non-smokers, and women. Lung cancer is a dreaded-disease, with one of the lowest 5-year survival rates”.

Dr Kumar further stated, “While conventional wisdom says that smoking is the main cause, there is strong evidence now, that points to the increasing role of air pollution in the rising incidence of lung cancer”.

Speaking about the initiative by the Medanta hospital with regards to Lung Cancer initiatives, Dr Kumar asserted, “#BeatLungCancer is a humble initiative by Medanta to increase disease awareness, promote screening for early detection, and provide inspiration and support through stories of strength of other patients”.

“An overall increase in the incidence of Lung Cancer in both men and women was observed. In men, Lung Cancer is leading in men in terms of prevalence and mortality, while in women it has jumped to No 3 (as per Globocan 2020) from No 7 (as per Globocan 2012) over 8 years”, mentioned in the study.

“Nearly 20% of patients were found to be less than 50 years of age. The trend showed Lung Cancer developing in Indians about a decade earlier than in their western counterparts. Nearly 10 per cent of all patients were less than 40 years of age with 2.6% in their 20s”, the study mentioned.

In the study, it has been found that 50% of patients were non-smokers, “Nearly 50% of these patients were non-smokers. Of this, 70 per cent of patients were in the younger-than-50-years age group and 100 per of patients under 30 years of age were Non-smokers.”

The prevalence of lung cancer was increasing in women, who made up 30% of the total patient population and were all non-smokers. The analysis showed that this number was significantly lower in the past (according to Globocan 2012).
According to the study, 80% of patients received a diagnosis at an advanced stage of their illness, when there is little chance of a full recovery and treatment is only palliative in nature.

The study found that in nearly 30% of cases, the patient’s condition was initially misdiagnosed as tuberculosis and treated for several months, which delayed a proper diagnosis and course of therapy.
In contrast to past data, which favoured Squamous Carcinoma, the majority of patients had Adenocarcinoma.

Notably, Squamous Carcinoma affects the cells that line the surface of airways, whereas Adenocarcinoma develops when cells lining the exterior of the lungs turn malignant. Former is known to produce rather worse results.

According to the study, there will likely be more female patients with lung cancer in the younger age group who do not smoke throughout the course of the next ten years.

The earlier dominant at-risk demographic of older smoker men is considerably different from this risk group.

According to the study, “there is an urgent need to raise awareness about the risk of Lung Cancer across different sections of the society for appropriate actions. Effective measures to reduce tobacco consumption and control air pollution will help control the rising graph of Lung Cancer cases.