Lung cancer in never smokers: a call to action

Abstract

The causative association between tobacco use and lung cancer is a well-established fact. However, lung cancer also occurs, at surprisingly high rates, in lifelong never smokers. In fact, lung cancer in never smokers is among the leading causes of cancer-related mortality. This CCR Focus summarizes recent data, identifies knowledge deficits, and suggests future research directions with regard to this critically important subset of lung cancer patients.

Fig. 1

Common causes of cancer death in the United States, 2008. Data are derived from (1). Total lung cancer deaths, estimated to be 161,840 in 2008, have been split into ever smokers and never smokers. Error bars reflect that the number of lung cancer deaths in never smokers, including cases attributable to second hand smoke exposure and cases not attributable to tobacco, are estimated to total 16,000 to 24,000 per year (3). See accompanying article for additional epidemiologic data (5).