Lung cancer has passed breast cancer as the leading cancer cause of death in women in developing countries. This is a consequence of the many women who started smoking years ago in wealthy countries.
The news was reported by the American Cancer Society as part of World Cancer Day.
Cancer of the lungs is almost always caused by smoking. "But it takes about two to three decades to see lung cancer deaths due to smoking, because lung cancer does take a long time to develop," said Lindsay Torre, an epidemiologist with the American Cancer Society. "The lung cancer deaths we are seeing today really have to do with smoking trends we saw in the 1970s, when women really started to pick up smoking."
Another factor is that the death rates from breast cancer in women in developed countries have been stable or have fallen. This is due to early detection and better treatment. In developing countries, breast cancer still leads as the biggest cause of cancer deaths.
Lung cancer has been the leading cause of cancer deaths in women in the United States since 1987. It has also been the leading cause of cancer deaths among men in developed countries for decades. However, the death rate from lung cancer in the United States has been leveling off.
The full report on worldwide cancer incidence was published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians. It was prepared using data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer. In 2012, an estimated 14.1 million new cancer cases and 8.2 million cancer deaths occurred worldwide, according to the report.
The single best way to avoid lung cancer is not to smoke, or to stop smoking if you have started. Quitting at any time will help reduce the risk of developing lung cancer.