Lung and Bronchus Cancer

Lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer mortality in Ohio, killed an average of 7,436 Ohioans per year between 1996 and 1999. In 2002, 7,900 new cases of lung cancer are expected in Ohio. Between 1996 and 1999, an average of 8,757 new cases of lung cancer were diagnosed each year. Nationally, the incidence rate for men from 1996-1998 averaged 85.5 per 100,000. In Ohio men, lung cancer incidence rates are much higher – 102.4 per 100,000 from 1996 through 1999. The national incidence rate for women during the 1996-1998 time period was 51.3 per 100,000. The Ohio incidence rate for women during the 1996-1999 time period was 56.2 per 100,000. For the past 15 years, more women have died each year of lung cancer than breast cancer.

In any given week, approximately 168 Ohioans are diagnosed with lung cancer and about 143 Ohioans die from it. Lung cancer causes more deaths every year than do colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers combined.

Risk Factors

• Cigarette smoking (tobacco use is responsible for 87 percent of lung cancers) – lung cancer mortality rates are about 23 times higher for current male smokers and 13 times higher for current female smokers compared to people who have never smoked
• Exposure to environmental or "secondhand" tobacco smoke
• Exposure to cancer-causing agents such as asbestos, radon, arsenic, talc, vinyl chloride, coal products, and radioactive ores like uranium (if people who are exposed to these agents also smoke, their risk is greatly increased)
• Tuberculosis (TB) and some types of pneumonia
• Having a first-degree relative who has had lung cancer
• Age (lung cancer is fairly rare in people under the age of 40)
   

Prevention and Early Detection

Stopping the use of tobacco can nearly eliminate lung cancer. Although lung cancer has been reduced among some groups in recent years, nearly 25 percent of Americans – adults, adolescents, and children – continue to smoke and use tobacco. Until tobacco use ends, lung cancer will likely continue to be the number one cause of cancer death in the United States, killing more than 150,000 Americans every year.

For lung cancer, early detection has not yet been shown to improve survival rates. Identifying an effective screening method is the key to improving early detection of lung cancer. Chest x-ray, analysis of cells contained in sputum, and fiber optic examinations of the bronchial passages have all shown limited effectiveness in detecting lung cancer early. Newer tests, such as low-dose helical CT scans and molecular markers in sputum, are currently being evaluated.

Last Updated: 10/24/02

                                                                            Cancer types / Links