Cancer Risk Double for Female Smokers 

Women smokers are twice as likely to develop lung cancer as men, according to an American Medical Association study. The study included 7,498 female and 9,427 male smokers aged 40 or older who underwent lung cancer screening at centers across North America. None showed symptoms of lung cancer at the time of screening.

Doctors diagnosed lung cancer in 156 of the female participants (2 percent) and 113 of the men (1.2 percent). After adjusting for differences of age and smoking history, however, women showed almost twice the risk of lung cancer than men. The good news is that women also were more than twice as likely as men to survive lung cancer. Scientists are not sure what accounts for this gender difference in survivability. Some theorize that women’s cancer may be less aggressive or more curable.

Regardless, lung cancer remains the single largest cancer killer in the United States.

Each year, more than 90,000 men and 73,000 women are diagnosed. Lung cancer kills more U.S. women annually than the next two leading malignancies (breast and colon cancer) combined.

The study’s findings highlight the need to educate younger women that they are at a higher risk of developing lung cancer, even when smoking the same amount as men.

Based on their vulnerability to tobacco smoke, women may need to be screened for lung cancer earlier than men. As with other cancers, early detection is critical to successful treatment.

Of course, the best way to avoid lung cancer is to never take up smoking.

Source: Weill Cornell Medical College