Reacción a "Proportion of lung cancer cases in nonsmokers associated with pollution is rising"

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. Tobacco use is estimated to be responsible for 85% of lung cancer deaths worldwide, so that most deaths from lung cancer could be avoided by effective prevention and control measures to prevent smoking initiation in adolescence and to encourage early cessation of tobacco use among smokers. In addition to the use of and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, breathing in an environment polluted by small particles -such as those emitted by car combustion engines- increases the risk of developing lung cancer.   

The study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine analyzes data on the evolution of lung cancer incidence and its main subtypes (adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, large cell carcinoma and small cell lung cancer) in 185 countries around the world. The results obtained show that the most frequent cancer subtype in almost all countries is adenocarcinoma, whose incidence shows a decreasing trend among men and an increasing trend among women, which the authors attribute to the changes that have been occurring in tobacco use worldwide since the 1970s.       

The downward trend in lung cancer incidence among smokers means that never-smokers tend to constitute an increasing proportion of all new lung cancer diagnoses. 

In addition, the results of the study indicate that lung cancer cases among non-smokers may be increasing especially in Asian countries such as China, where rapid economic growth has led to an increase in the emission of air-polluting microparticles. All this underscores the need to continue developing actions aimed at preventing lung cancer and other diseases by strengthening smoking control policies and also urban, industrial and mobility policies that prevent the quality of the air we breathe.