Lung Cancer and Nonsmokers

Why do some nonsmokers get lung cancer?

Dana Reeve's recent death highlights an alarming fact: Women who don't smoke are at far greater risk for the disease than their male counterparts. Among men, only 10 percent of lung cancers occur in nonsmokers, compared with as much as 30 percent for women. Doctors are still probing this deadly gender gap, but hormones may play a role, says Dr. James Stevenson of the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. "There is some evidence that estrogen is involved in the development of lung cancer in both smoking and nonsmoking women." Other risk factors for both sexes include exposure to tobacco fumes, asbestos, radon gas in soil, air pollution and workplace toxins, or a family history of lung cancer. In 2006, about 20,000 nonsmokers are expected to develop lung cancer, along with about 155,000 past and current smokers.