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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- If youve never picked up a cigarette, you probably havent worried about lung cancer -- but new research suggests even non-smokers, especially men, need to be on guard against this killer.
After conducting the largest review to date of lung cancer in non-smokers, researchers found death rates from lung cancer are higher among men who have never smoked than women who have never smoked. In addition, they uncovered that among never-smokers, African Americans and Asians living in Asia are more likely to die from lung cancer than people of European descent.
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Although earlier research has suggested the risk of lung cancer among never-smokers is increasing and women have a higher incidence rate than men, the new study doesnt support either idea.
Investigators at the American Cancer Society synthesized data from 13 large cohort studies, including data on 2 million people from 22 cancer registries around the world.
Lung cancer takes more lives than any other type of cancer, and 10 to 15 percent of cases are caused by factors other than smoking.
SOURCE: PLoS Medicine, 2008;5:e185
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