A recent study published in the Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal reveals a concerning trend: a growing proportion of lung cancer diagnoses in individuals who have never smoked. This alarming finding, released on World Cancer Day, underscores the significant impact of air pollution on lung cancer development.
The research, conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), analyzed data from the Global Cancer Observatory 2022 dataset. It identified lung cancer as the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths globally among never-smokers. Almost all cases in this group were adenocarcinoma, the most prevalent subtype of lung cancer in both men and women.
In 2022, an estimated 1.6 million new lung cancer cases were diagnosed in men, and approximately 910,000 in women. With smoking rates declining in many countries, researchers pinpoint air pollution as a primary driver of this rise in lung cancer among never-smokers. The study states, “Air pollution can be considered an important factor that partly explains the emerging predominance of adenocarcinoma that accounts for 53% to 70% of cases of lung cancer among people who have never smoked worldwide.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(999×0:1001×2)/lung-cancer-guidelines-110223-1-fdfbc266d99a4f03910e247c629e6ac3.jpg)
As of 2019, almost the entire global population resided in areas where air quality failed to meet World Health Organization standards. This widespread exposure to polluted air highlights the urgency of addressing this environmental health crisis.
Dr. Freddie Bray, head of IARC’s cancer surveillance branch and the study’s lead author, emphasized the significance of these findings: “The results provide important insights as to how both the disease and the underlying risk factors are evolving, offering clues as to how we can optimally prevent lung cancer worldwide.” He further noted the importance of understanding the “diverging trends by sex in recent generations” to develop targeted tobacco and air pollution control strategies.
According to Bray, changes in smoking habits and exposure to air pollution are major factors influencing the shifting risk profile of lung cancer incidence by subtype. This understanding is crucial for cancer prevention specialists and policymakers in designing effective public health interventions.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. The American Cancer Society projects approximately 226,000 new lung cancer diagnoses and nearly 125,000 deaths from the disease in 2025. While lung cancer can affect individuals of any age, it predominantly occurs in older adults, with most diagnoses occurring in those aged 65 or older.
