Lung Cancer in American Women: Facts

• Of the over 215,000 cases of lung cancer diagnosed in the U.S. each year, more than 100,000 (46%) are in women. Over 70,000 women die from lung cancer annually, accounting for 26 percent of cancer deaths among women.¹

• One in 16 women will develop lung cancer in her lifetime.¹

• Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer of women in the U.S.¹

• Lung cancer kills 30,000 more women than breast cancer annually in the U.S.¹

• Lung cancer takes the lives of more women each year than breast, ovarian and uterine cancers combined.¹

• The five year survival rate for lung cancer is only 16 percent compared to an 89 percent five year survival rate for breast cancer.^{1, 2}

• 1 in 5 women with lung cancer has never smoked (in men with lung cancer, only 1 in 10 has never smoked).¹ Women who have never smoked may be more at risk for lung cancer than men who have never smoked.³

• Of the approximately 20,000-25,000 never-smokers diagnosed with lung cancer in the U.S. each year, more than 60 percent of them are women.⁴

• Of the approximately 3,400 people who die from lung cancer in the U.S. annually due to exposure from second-hand smoke, 2,200 (65%) of them are women.⁵

• Some evidence suggests that women may be more sensitive than men to the cancer-causing effects of chemicals in cigarettes.^6-12

• Approximately 9 percent of women diagnosed with lung cancer are younger then 50 years old, compared to 7 percent of men with lung cancer.¹³

• Women are more likely than men to get a sub-type of lung cancer called bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC).¹³ The incidence of BAC appears to be rising worldwide.^15-17

• Women typically fare better than men after treatment for lung cancer.^{13, 18-22}

• Women with lung cancer are more likely than their male counterparts to have specific genetic mutations.^{9, 23-28} These mutations may be involved in lung cancer risk.

• Research indicates that the female hormone estrogen may be involved in lung cancer risk in women.^29-32

• Lung cancer research is significantly under-funded. In 2006, the National Cancer Institute spent approximately $1,638 per lung cancer death, compared to $13,519 per breast cancer death, $11,298 per prostate cancer death, and $4,588 per colorectal cancer death.^33-34

How Can I Reduce My Risk?

• If you smoke, get the help you need to quit (state quitlines can be accessed at www.naquitline.org or by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW).

• If you live in an area with high levels of radon coming from the bedrock (see www.epa.gov/radon), consider having your house tested for radon exposure. If radon levels are too high, a device can be installed to reduce them.

• Eat a well-balanced diet and exercise. These activities help reduce the risk of all cancers.

• If you smoke now or smoked in the past, or have a family history of lung cancer, consider speaking to your doctor about screening tests that may be available to you. Cancer is most treatable when it is detected early