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Lung Cancer Risk
May
Be Higher in Female Smokers
Female smokers may be more likely
to develop lung cancer than men who smoke a similar amount, new
study findings suggest. The investigators found that of nearly
2,500 men and women age 40 and older screened for lung cancer,
women had more than twice the risk of being diagnosed with the
disease.
If further research confirms this
higher risk, it will be particularly important to stop girls and
young women from taking up the smoking habit, the researchers
say.
There's not yet a clear reason
why women might face a higher lung cancer risk than men, according
to the study's lead author, Dr. Claudia Henschke of New York-Presbyterian
Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York.
It's possible, she noted in an
interview, that women are less able than men to metabolize, or
"clear," the toxins from tobacco smoke, but more research is needed
to answer that question.
Other possibilities -- such as
sex differences in the aggressiveness of lung tumors, or underreporting
of smoking levels by women -- do not appear to explain the findings,
according to Henschke.
She and colleague Dr. Olli S. Miettnen
report their results in the journal Lung Cancer.
In the study, 1,202 women and 1,288
men underwent computed tomography (CT) scans to screen for lung
cancer. All had smoked for at least 10 "pack-years" -- meaning,
for example, one pack a day for 10 years, or two packs a day for
five years.
Follow-up testing confirmed 45
cases of lung cancer among women, and 20 among men.
After the researchers factored
in participants' age and smoking history, women were more than
twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with lung cancer.
Some past research has suggested
female smokers might be more susceptible to developing lung cancer,
but other studies have failed to find such evidence. If further
research confirms the current findings, it will be especially
important for anti-smoking efforts to reach women and girls, according
to Henschke.
"The key thing," she said, "is
that girls and young women don't start smoking."
SOURCE: Lung Cancer, January 2004.
Reference
Source 89
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