Medical Author: Melissa Conrad Stoppler, MD
Medical Editor: Jay W. Marks, MD
While smoking cigarettes is
an undisputed reason for lung
cancer, not every cases
of cancer of the lung exist in smokers or former smokers. Every year, over 170,000
Americans develop cancer of the lung, and roughly ten percent of lung cancers,
or 17,000 cases, exist in non-smokers. While not every non-smoker suffering
from cancer of the lung may have an identifiable risk factor for growth and development of the condition, numerous conditions and conditions happen to be identified which will
increase a non-smoker’s possibility of developing cancer of the lung.
or even the inhalation of cigarettes using their company smokers discussing living or
working quarters, is definitely an established risk factor to add mass to lung
cancer. Non-smokers who reside having a smoker possess a 24% rise in risk for
developing cancer of the lung in comparison with other non-smokers. Every year, up
to three,000 cancer of the lung deaths are believed to happen within the U.S. which are
due to passive smoking.
is yet another known reason for cancer of the lung. An believed 12% of total cancer of the lung
deaths both in smokers and non-smokers, or 15,000 to 22,000 cancer of the lung-related
deaths yearly within the U.S, are thought to be a minimum of partly associated with
radon gas exposure.
Individuals that do smoke and therefore are uncovered to radon have a much greater chance of
developing cancer of the lung than non-smokers who’re uncovered to radon gas. Radon
gas can travel up through soil and enter homes through gaps within the
foundation, pipes, drains, or any other openings. The U.S. Ecological
Protection Agency estimates that one inch every 15 homes within the U.S.
contains harmful amounts of radon gas. Radon gas is invisible and odor free
but could be detected with simple test kits.
compound which was broadly used previously as both thermal and acoustic
insulation material. Microscopic fibers of asbestos break loose in the
insulation material and therefore are released in to the air where they may be inhaled into
the lung area. Asbestos fibers can persist for life in lung tissue following contact with asbestos. Both cancer of the lung and a kind of cancer
referred to as mesothelioma cancer are
connected with contact with asbestos. Smoking cigarettes drastically
increases the risk of developing an asbestos-related cancer of the lung among
workers uncovered to asbestos nonetheless, asbestos workers who don’t smoke
possess a five fold and the higher chances of developing cancer of the lung than other
non-smokers. Today, asbestos me is limited or banned in lots of countries
such as the U . S.
smokers don’t eventually develop cancer of the lung,
chances are that additional factors, for example individual genetic susceptibility, are likely involved within the
causation of cancer of the lung. Many studies have proven that cancer of the lung is much more
prone to exist in both smoking and non-smoking relatives of individuals who’ve had
cancer of the lung compared to the overall population.
industry, and power plants, can raise the probability of developing cancer of the lung
in uncovered individuals. It’s been believed that as much as 2,000 cancer of the lung
deaths each year might be due to breathing polluted air, and lots of experts think that prolonged contact with
highly polluted air can transport a danger to add mass to cancer of the lung similar
to that particular of passive smoking.
REFERENCE: National Institutes of Health. New Early Recognition Studies of Cancer Of The Lung in Non-Smokers Launched Today. News Release, May 4, 2009.
Last Editorial Review: 12/1/2014