Women aged 60 and older who smoke have more than twice the risk of developing lung cancer compared with older male smokers, researchers conclude.
The finding serves as "compelling evidence that (women) have a greater
susceptibility to tobacco carcinogens than men," write Dr. Natasha Buckshee and
colleagues at New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York City. They presented
their findings Tuesday at a meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians,
held in Chicago, Illinois.
Lung cancer remains the number one cancer killer of both men and women in
the United States. According to the American Cancer Society, over 90,000 men and
68,000 women die from lung cancer each year.
The researchers used computer tomography (CT) scanning to test 1,000
adults over 60 years of age for signs of lung cancer. Each of the study
participants had decades-long histories of smoking.
A total of 29 subjects -- 19 women and 10 men -- were diagnosed with lung
cancer. Buckshee and colleagues report that, after adjusting for other risk
factors, female smokers had a 2.3 times higher risk of developing lung cancer
than males.
These findings suggest that women are more vulnerable than men to the
carcinogens found in tobacco smoke. The researchers believe, therefore, that
"smoking cessation and prevention must have a high priority on the agenda for
women's health issues."
Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths in both sexes in the
US. But whereas lung cancer mortality rates have been falling in men since 1990,
rates among women have been rising.
