Lung Cancer, the Number One Cancer Killer

Each year, about 200,000 people in the United States are told they have lung cancer and more than 150,000 people die from this disease. Deaths from lung cancer represent about one out of every six deaths from cancer in the U.S.

Risk Factors
Research has found several causes and risk factors for lung cancer. A risk factor is anything that changes the chance of getting a disease. Lung cancer risk factors include :

1. Smoking.
2. Secondhand smoke from other people's cigarettes.
3. Radon gas in the home.
4. Things around home or work, including asbestos, ionizing radiation, and other cancer-causing substances.
5. Medical exposure to radiation to the chest.
6. Chronic lung disease such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis.
7. Increased age.

The relative risks we propose are based on the approach taken in the CRA analysis (Concha-Barrientos et. al., 2004).  Using the data of Steenland et al. (1996), a mean relative risk of 1.6 is estimated for workers exposed to eight lung carcinogens (not including radon).  The mean relative risk is calculated from an average of the relative risks for each lung carcinogen, weighted by the proportion of workers exposed to each carcinogen.  

To estimate an uncertainty range for the mean relative risk, weighted lower and upper 95% confidence intervals are calculated for the relative risks of each substance (except beryllium, for which there were no estimated confidence intervals). 
This yields a 95% confidence interval of 1.4–1.8. Relative risks can also be estimated separately by subregion.  Again, the subregional relative risks can be weighted for each carcinogen, using the proportions of workers in each subregion who have been exposed to each carcinogen.  However, the resulting average relative risks are not meaningfully different (all are close to 1.6) and imply a level of accuracy that is not justified by the data.  Therefore, 1.6 is used for all subregions.
To produce relative risk estimates for low and high exposures, the mean relative risks are partitioned into values that correspond to low and high levels of exposure.  Data for the USA are used because these are the most reliable and comprehensive.

Prevention

You can reduce your risk of developing lung cancer in several ways :

a. Don't smoke. If you do smoke, quit now.
b. Avoid secondhand smoke. There is no risk-free level of secondhand smoke exposure.
c. Have your home tested for radon and take corrective actions if high levels are found.

d. Avoid unnecessary medical tests that involve X-ray images of the chest.
e. Follow health and safety guidelines in the workplace.

Treatment
Lung cancer is treated in several ways, depending on the type of lung cancer and how far it has spread. Treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. People with lung cancer often get more than one kind of treatment.
People with lung cancer may want to take part in a clinical trial. Clinical trials study new potential treatment options. Learn more about clinical trialsExternal Web Site Icon at the National Cancer Institute.