Lung cancer ranks third in incidence and first in mortality in Spain and is expected to account for 31,282 cases by 2023. Smoking is the main risk factor for developing this disease, but the patient profile has changed, with more and more cases occurring in women and in the non-smoking population. Fifteen percent of cases are not related to smoking.
Dr. Margarita Majem, an associate physician at the Medical Oncology Service of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, points out that the best prevention against lung cancer is not to smoke, and that to this end, education in schools and healthcare to help quit smoking is fundamental. Success in quitting smoking lies in the combination of drugs and psychological help.
Lung cancer used to be considered a disease of male smokers, but the typical profile of patients has changed in recent years, and more diagnoses have been detected in women and in the non-smoking population. Raising awareness of this situation is fundamental in order to reach earlier diagnoses and increase survival. In addition, 29% of lung cancer cases diagnosed each year in Spain are in women.
The increase in the number of cases in women is due to the increase in tobacco consumption by women and to genetic and environmental factors that may be behind the increase. Almost 15% of lung cancer cases occur in non-smokers.