Risk factors for patients with lung cancer who have never smoked

Cumulative exposure to PM 2.5 was quantified with a high-spatial-resolution global exposure model. The magnitude of three years versus 20 years of exposure was compared.

Myers acknowledged that even a 20-year cumulative exposure does not capture childhood exposure and is an underestimate of lifetime exposure and depends on countries of residence

Of the 236 female patients with lung cancer who had never smoked, 83.3% were foreign-born; 71% were Asians. The mean years lived in a foreign country was 37.3 years. The mean age of lung cancer diagnosis was 66 years; 92.8% of them had adenocarcinoma and 55.9% were Stage III/IV lung cancer. For foreign-born Canadian females, only 2% had 3-year cumulative PM2.5 exposure of >10 ug/m3 whereas 20% had a 20-year cumulative PM2.5 of >10 ug/m3. All had a PM2.5 exposure greater than 5 ug/m3.

"Our study demonstrates the importance of incorporating long-term cumulative exposure to ambient air pollutants in the assessment of individual lung cancer risk in combination with traditional risk factors," said Dr. Myers.

Ref:

Renelle Myers et. al, MEETING IASLC World Conference on Lung Cancer 2022,