“Pollutants in the air, such as particulate matter and industrial emissions, can damage lung tissue and lead to cancer over time.”
It’s a question many people are asking these days. Why are so many non-smokers getting lung cancer? Researchers went looking for answers and discovered the biggest culprit is air pollution in our cities and vaping among.
Cigarette smoking is by far the biggest risk factor for lung cancer, data shows — but in a surprising turn of events, the most common form of the disease is primarily found in non-smokers.
Researchers at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) analyzed global trends in four main lung cancer subtypes: adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, small-cell carcinoma and large-cell carcinoma.
They found that adenocarcinoma has been the most “predominant subtype” in recent years, according to a press release summarizing the study. Younger females were found to be at a particularly high risk.
The study was published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine earlier this month, based on global cancer data from 2022.
Adenocarcinoma — which starts in the cells lining the air sacs in the lungs — is the most common type of lung cancer among people who have never smoked, comprising up to 50% of diagnoses in that group, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Air pollution was cited as a key driver of this type of lung cancer, with the highest levels reported in East Asia, particularly China, the release stated.
Worldwide, adenocarcinoma made up more than 45% of lung cancer cases in males and nearly 60% of female cases.
Dr. Marc Siegel, clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health and Fox News senior medical analyst, was not involved in the study but discussed these lung cancer trends with Fox News Digital.
“The main reason for increasing rates in non-smokers is air pollution, which can lead to adenocarcinoma of the lung, which is almost 50% of lung cancers now,” he confirmed.
Increased vaping rates are also associated with the ramp-up of lung cancer rates, the doctor noted.
“Secondhand smoke also continues to be a factor, even though smoking rates have fallen dramatically,” Siegel said.
“Genetic risk factors may also come into play and “need to be further explored,” according to the doctor.
“Artificial intelligence can play a huge role here in terms of early diagnosis and pattern recognition, even before discrete lung nodules develop,” he added. “However, lung CT scans remain the best diagnostic tool for those at risk.”
Marianne Matzo, PhD, a certified advanced nurse practitioner in Dallas, Texas, agreed that poor air quality and pollution can contribute to lung cancer.
“Pollutants in the air, such as particulate matter and industrial emissions, can damage lung tissue and lead to cancer over time,” Matzo, who was not part of IARC’s research, told Fox News Digital. “This complicates the diagnosis and treatment process.”
Some veterans who have been exposed to hazardous materials may also face a higher risk of lung cancer, she noted.
“Veterans based in the Middle East (in particular Afghanistan and Iraq) were exposed to burn pits,” said Matzo, who worked in oncology at the VA hospital.
“The waste included paints, solvents, human and medical waste, trash, and plastics that were ignited with JP-8 jet fuel, which contains benzene.”
One doctor told Fox News Digital that some veterans who have been exposed to hazardous materials may also face a higher risk of lung cancer.
“We are starting to see the effects of the pollution from those pits on young vets being diagnosed with lung cancer.”
Exposure to high doses of radiation, as well as chemicals like asbestos and benzene, can also increase the risk of developing cancer, she cautioned.
“Bacterial and viral infections can also cause genetic mutations and chronic inflammation, which contribute to the development of cancer.”
In some cases, lung cancer can develop seemingly at random with no direct cause.
“Secondhand smoke also continues to be a factor, even though smoking rates have fallen dramatically,” one doctor said.
“What people miss when they say, ‘I never smoked a day in my life, how could I have lung cancer?’ are the variables of chance and genetics,” Matzo added. “We can’t control our genetics, and there can be genetic predispositions to cancer.”
Ravi Salgia, M.D., Ph.D., medical oncologist and chair of the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research at City of Hope in California, noted that there is “considerable variability” of lung cancer subtype based on geography and gender.
“There are a number of potential causes of lung cancer — smoking, pollution, radon exposure and genetics, for example,” Salgia, who was also not involved in the research, told Fox News Digital.
“More research is needed to determine the exact causes of lung cancer and the progression of this cancer. It is indeed concerning that pollution can potentially lead to lung cancer. We truly need to understand how the disease develops and ultimately how to better prevent and treat it.”
Author: Melissa Rudy at Fox News Digital
Lung Cancer Treatment:
Lung cancer is among the most common cancers we treat at the CyberKnife Center of Miami
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One of the biggest challenges in lung cancer treatment remains effectively treating the cancer, while minimizing impact on the many sensitive tissues and vital organs that surround the lungs. Precision is critical — and that’s what makes the CyberKnife System so unique.
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The CyberKnife System is a leading technology in SBRT, a specialized type of radiation therapy, used to routinely treat lung cancers and metastases.
The system provides a proven, non-surgical option for treating early stage, inoperable non-small cell lung cancer, tumors in challenging anatomical locations such as central lung tumors surrounded by sensitive structures and lung tumors near the chest wall, and inoperable peripheral lung tumors.
CyberKnife SBRT may also be an option for those patients seeking an alternative to surgery.
Key CyberKnife® treatment benefits
Radiation treatment is non-surgical and non-invasive
Good cancer control
Significantly reduced incidence of common side effects such as shortness of breath, swallowing difficulties or a sore throat
Treatments are typically completed in as little as 3 to 4 sessions across 1 to 2 weeks
Most patients can continue normal activity throughout treatment
More than two decades of clinical proof
The CyberKnife System is the first and only radiotherapy device that brings true robotic precision and the ability to track, detect and adapt for tumor motion in real-time, to the treatment of lung cancer.
But this advanced treatment technology is not new; the CyberKnife System has more than two decades of clinical evidence and has helped thousands of patients diagnosed with lung tumors and metastases.
The CyberKnife System is used to treat a wide range of lung cancers, including even the most complicated cases.
Demonstrated clinical benefits in the treatment of lung cancer:
The CyberKnife System is a leading technology in SBRT, a specialized type of radiation therapy, used to treat early stage, inoperable non-small cell lung cancer while minimizing side effects.
The CyberKnife System enables safe and effective SBRT for central lung tumors surrounded by sensitive structures and lung tumors near the chest wall.
CyberKnife also provides excellent clinical outcomes for patients with inoperable peripheral lung tumors.
A pooled analysis of two randomized trials indicates that lung SBRT is better tolerated and might lead to better overall survival compared to surgery for operable early-stage lung cancer.
Cancer Treatment in Miami Florida
Contact CyberKnife Miami to find out if CyberKnife treatment is right for you because you deserve the best possible treatment for your lung cancer 305-279-2900.
CyberKnife Research References:
1 Brown et al. “Application of Robotic Stereotactic Radiotherapy to Peripheral Stage I Non-small Cell Lung Cancer with Curative Intent.” Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol). 2009; 21: 623-631.
2 Nuyttens J.J. et al. “Outcome of four-dimensional stereotactic radiotherapy for centrally located long tumors.” Radiotherapy and Oncology. 2012; 102: 383-387.
3 Podder T. et al. “Chest wall and rib irradiation and toxicities of early-stage lung cancer patients treated with CyberKnife stereotactic body radiotherapy.” Future oncology. 2014; 10(15): 2311-2317.
4 Snider J.W. et al. “CyberKnife with tumor tracking: an effective treatment for high-risk surgical patients with single peripheral lung metastases” Front Oncol. 2012; 2: 63 – https://doi.org/10.3389/fonc.2012.00063.
5 Lischalk J.W. et al. “Long-term outcomes of stereotactic body radiation therapy (sbrt) with fiducial tracking for inoperable stage I non-small cell lung cancer (nsclc).” J Radiat Oncol. 2016; 5: 379-387 – https://doi.org/10.1007/s13566-016-0273-4.
6 Chang S. et al. “Stereotactic ablative radiotherapy versus lobectomy for operable stage I non-small-cell lung cancer: a pooled analysis of two rancomised trials.” Lancet Oncol. 2015; 16(6) 630-637 – https://doi.org/10.1111/1759-7714.12574.