Lung carcinogens

Abstract

Lung cancer is the most common cancer globally, with more than 2 million new cases per year. It is also the cancer that causes most deaths, i.e. about 1.7 million annually or 18% of all cancer deaths. In the Russian Federation, lung cancer is the most common cancer among men, while still relatively rare among women. In Northern and Western Europe, lung cancer rates in men have decreased in the last 20 years, while the rates in women keep rising. These global patterns are largely influenced by the national smoking prevalence in the previous decades for respective sex. Environmental and occupational risk factors also contribute to the burden of lung cancer, but the extent of this contribution varies over time and by location. There is a large potential for preventing lung cancer development by reducing and eliminating external risk factors.