Know Your Risk Factors for Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States among both men and women, and kills more people each year than breast, colon, ovarian, and prostate cancer combined. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to lower your risk of developing lung cancer.

What is Lung Cancer?

"Lung cancer" is a term for a number of different types of cancer that begin in the lungs. The two main groups of lung cancers are small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Small cell lung cancer is relatively rare, accounting for 15 percent of all lung cancer cases. It is a particularly vicious and fast-moving type of cancer.

Non-small cell lung cancer includes several different types of cancer, including adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma. Adenocarcinoma is the most common form of lung cancer.

You may have heard of another lung cancer called mesothelioma. Mesothelioma is a cancer that affects the thin layer of tissue that surrounds the organs in the body, and can actually occur anywhere in the body that has this tissue. Pleural mesothelioma is the type that occurs in the tissue around the lungs, and is the most common. It is most often linked to asbestos exposure.

Risk Factors for Lung Cancer

Smoking cigarettes is far and away the largest risk factor for lung cancer. Doctors estimate that if no one smoked, the rate of lung cancer would drop as much as go percent. There is no safe way to smoke tobacco — whether you smoke cigarettes, cigars, pipes or use hookahs, you greatly increase your risk of developing lung cancer.