Lung cancer risk factors: Difference between revisions
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*Radiation therapy to the lungs | *Radiation therapy to the lungs | ||
*Exposure to cancer-causing chemicals such as uranium, beryllium, vinyl chloride, nickel chromates, coal products, mustard gas, chloromethyl ethers, gasoline, and diesel exhaust | *Exposure to cancer-causing chemicals such as uranium, beryllium, vinyl chloride, nickel chromates, coal products, mustard gas, chloromethyl ethers, gasoline, and diesel exhaust | ||
=====Smoking===== | |||
*In the United States, smoking is estimated to account for 87% of lung cancer cases (90% in men and 85% in women).<ref name="Samet2">{{cite journal | last =Samet | first =JM | coauthors =Wiggins CL, Humble CG, Pathak DR | title =Cigarette smoking and lung cancer in New Mexico | journal =American Review of Respiratory Disease | volume =137 | issue =5 | pages =1110–1113 | date =May 1988 | pmid =3264122 }}</ref>*There is approximately a 20 year lag period between smoking and death due to lung cancer (in men). Shown below is an image depicting the correlation between smoking and lung cancer. | |||
[[File:Cancer smoking lung cancer correlation from NIH.svg|frame|The incidence of lung cancer is highly correlated with smoking. Source: NIH.|left]] | |||
<br clear="left"/> | |||
=====Radon Gas===== | |||
*Radon gas is attributed to approximately 12% (15,000 to 22,000) of lung cancer deaths per year. Radon gas levels vary by locality and the composition of the underlying soil and rocks. For example, in areas such as Cornwall in the UK (which has granite as substrata), radon gas is a major problem, and buildings have to be force-ventilated with fans to lower radon gas concentrations. The [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] (EPA) estimates that one in 15 homes in the U.S. has radon levels above the recommended guideline of 4 pico[[Curie]]s per liter (pCi/L).<ref name="EPA radon">{{cite web | last =EPA |authorlink =United States Environmental Protection Agency | title =Radiation information: radon | publisher =EPA | date =Oct 2006 |url =http://www.epa.gov/radiation/radionuclides/radon.htm | accessdate =2007-08-11 }}</ref> Iowa has the highest average radon concentration in the United States; studies performed there have demonstrated a 50% increased lung cancer risk with prolonged radon exposure above the EPA's action level of 4 pCi/L.<ref name="Field">{{cite journal | last =Field | first =RW | coauthors = Steck DJ, Smith BJ et al. | title =Residential radon gas exposure and lung cancer: the Iowa Radon Lung Cancer Study | journal =American Journal of Epidemiology | volume =151 | issue =11 | pages =1091–1102 | publisher =Oxford Journals | date =Jun 2000 | url =http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/151/11/1091 | pmid =10873134 | accessdate =2007-08-11 }}</ref><ref name="EPA Iowa">{{cite web | last =EPA | authorlink =United States Environmental Protection Agency | title =Iowa Radon Lung Cancer Study |publisher =EPA | date =Jun 2000 | url =http://www.epa.gov/radon/iowastudy.html | accessdate =2007-08-11 }}</ref> | |||
======Asbestos====== | |||
Asbestos related lung cancer is rarer than radon gas or smoking. It accounts for approximately 3,400 to 8,500 cases per year in the United States. In the UK, asbestos accounts for 2–3% of male lung cancer deaths.<ref name="Darnton">{{cite journal | last=Darnton | first=AJ | coauthors =McElvenny DM, Hodgson JT | title =Estimating the number of asbestos-related lung cancer deaths in Great Britain from 1980 to 2000 | journal=Annals of Occupational Hygiene | volume=50 | issue=1 | pages=29–38 | date=Jan 2006 |url=http://annhyg.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/50/1/29 | pmid=16126764 | accessdate=2007-09-07 }}</ref> | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 21:26, 3 August 2015
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-In-Chief: Kim-Son H. Nguyen, M.D., M.P.A., Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA, Cafer Zorkun, M.D., Ph.D. [2]
Overview
Lung cancer is the deadliest type of cancer for both men and women. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than breast, colon, and prostate cancers combined.
Risk Factors
Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. The more cigarettes you smoke per day and the earlier you started smoking, the greater your risk of lung cancer. There is no evidence that smoking low-tar cigarettes lowers the risk. Not all cases of lung cancer are due to smoking, but the role of passive smoking is increasingly being recognized as a risk factor for lung cancer, leading to policy interventions to decrease undesired exposure of non-smokers to others' tobacco smoke. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 3,000 nonsmoking adults will die each year from lung cancer related to breathing secondhand smoke. However, lung cancer has occurred in people who have never smoked.
Emissions from automobiles, factories and power plants also pose potential risks.[1]
The following may also increase one's risk of lung cancer:
- High levels of air pollution
- High levels of arsenic in drinking water
- Radon gas
- Asbestos
- Family history of lung cancer
- Radiation therapy to the lungs
- Exposure to cancer-causing chemicals such as uranium, beryllium, vinyl chloride, nickel chromates, coal products, mustard gas, chloromethyl ethers, gasoline, and diesel exhaust
Smoking
- In the United States, smoking is estimated to account for 87% of lung cancer cases (90% in men and 85% in women).[2]*There is approximately a 20 year lag period between smoking and death due to lung cancer (in men). Shown below is an image depicting the correlation between smoking and lung cancer.
Radon Gas
- Radon gas is attributed to approximately 12% (15,000 to 22,000) of lung cancer deaths per year. Radon gas levels vary by locality and the composition of the underlying soil and rocks. For example, in areas such as Cornwall in the UK (which has granite as substrata), radon gas is a major problem, and buildings have to be force-ventilated with fans to lower radon gas concentrations. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that one in 15 homes in the U.S. has radon levels above the recommended guideline of 4 picoCuries per liter (pCi/L).[3] Iowa has the highest average radon concentration in the United States; studies performed there have demonstrated a 50% increased lung cancer risk with prolonged radon exposure above the EPA's action level of 4 pCi/L.[4][5]
Asbestos
Asbestos related lung cancer is rarer than radon gas or smoking. It accounts for approximately 3,400 to 8,500 cases per year in the United States. In the UK, asbestos accounts for 2–3% of male lung cancer deaths.[6]
References
- ↑ Parent, ME (Jan 2007). "Exposure to diesel and gasoline engine emissions and the risk of lung cancer". American Journal of Epidemiology. 165 (1): 53–62. PMID 17062632. Unknown parameter
|coauthors=ignored (help) - ↑ Samet, JM (May 1988). "Cigarette smoking and lung cancer in New Mexico". American Review of Respiratory Disease. 137 (5): 1110–1113. PMID 3264122. Unknown parameter
|coauthors=ignored (help) - ↑ EPA (Oct 2006). "Radiation information: radon". EPA. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
- ↑ Field, RW (Jun 2000). "Residential radon gas exposure and lung cancer: the Iowa Radon Lung Cancer Study". American Journal of Epidemiology. Oxford Journals. 151 (11): 1091–1102. PMID 10873134. Retrieved 2007-08-11. Unknown parameter
|coauthors=ignored (help) - ↑ EPA (Jun 2000). "Iowa Radon Lung Cancer Study". EPA. Retrieved 2007-08-11.
- ↑ Darnton, AJ (Jan 2006). "Estimating the number of asbestos-related lung cancer deaths in Great Britain from 1980 to 2000". Annals of Occupational Hygiene. 50 (1): 29–38. PMID 16126764. Retrieved 2007-09-07. Unknown parameter
|coauthors=ignored (help)