Avoiding risk factors and enhancing protective factors can prevent lung cancer.
Avoiding some risk factors such as smoking, being overweight, and lack of exercise can help prevent some cancers. Protective factors include quitting smoking and getting more exercise. It is recommended that you can talk to your doctor or other health care professional about how to reduce your risk of developing cancer.
The risk factors for lung cancer are as follows:
Cigarettes, cigarettes, and pipe tobacco
Smoking is the most important risk factor for lung cancer. Cigarettes, cigarettes, and pipe tobacco can all increase the risk of lung cancer. The proportion of lung cancer cases that are smoked is 90% in men and 80% in women.
Studies have shown that smoking cigarettes with low tar or nicotine content does not reduce the risk of lung cancer.
Studies also show that the risk of lung cancer increases with the number of cigarettes smoked and the duration of smoking, and that the risk of lung cancer in smokers is about 20 times higher than in nonsmokers.
Secondhand smoke
Secondhand smoke exposure is also a risk factor for lung cancer. Secondhand smoke is the smoke formed by the burning of tobacco products such as cigarettes, or the smoke exhaled by smokers. Despite the low levels, secondhand smoke exposure is just as carcinogenic as smoking. Secondhand smoke is known as involuntary or passive smoking.
Family history
A family history of lung cancer is a risk factor for lung cancer. The risk of lung cancer in people with a family history of lung cancer is almost twice as high as in people without a family history of lung cancer. Because of the familial aggregation of smoking behavior and exposure of family members to secondhand smoke, it is not clear whether the increased risk of lung cancer described above is due to family history or smoking.
HIV infection
HIV infection is also a risk factor for lung cancer. people with HIV infection have more than twice the risk of developing lung cancer than normal people. It is not clear whether this increased risk is due to HIV infection or smoking because of the high rate of smoking among people with HIV infection.
Environmental risk factors
Studies have shown that high levels of radon in the home or workplace can increase the risk of developing and dying from lung cancer. Compared to nonsmokers, smokers exposed to radon have a significantly higher risk of developing lung cancer. Among nonsmokers, about 26% of lung cancer deaths were associated with radon exposure.
People with these exposures in the workplace are at risk for lung cancer, even if they have never smoked. As exposure levels increase, the risk of lung cancer also increases. The risk of lung cancer is higher in smokers with these exposures.
Heavy smokers taking beta-carotene
Taking beta-carotene (tablets) increases the risk of lung cancer in individuals, especially heavy smokers (more than a pack of cigarettes a day). Among smokers, the risk was higher in regular drinkers (at least one drink a day).
Lung cancer protective factors are as follows:
Non-smoking
The best way to prevent lung cancer is to not smoke.
Cessation of smoking
Quitting smoking reduces the risk of lung cancer in smokers. Among smokers who have been treated for lung cancer, quitting reduces the risk of recurrence in patients with lung cancer. Counseling services, use of nicotine replacement products, and antidepressant treatment can all help with smoking cessation.
For those who have quit smoking, the number of years and quantity of cigarettes smoked and the number of years since quitting can affect the odds of lung cancer. After 10 years of quitting, the risk of lung cancer can be reduced by 30% to 60%.
Although long-term smoking cessation significantly reduces the risk of lung cancer death, the risk of lung cancer death is still higher among quitters than among nonsmokers. Therefore, young people should try not to smoke.
Read the following for more information about quitting:
Reducing exposure to workplace risk factors
Legislation that protects workers from or reduces exposure to carcinogens, including asbestos, arsenic, nickel and chromium, can help reduce the risk of lung cancer. Banning smoking in the workplace can help reduce the incidence of secondhand smoke related lung cancer.
Reducing radon exposure
Reducing radon exposure can reduce the risk of lung cancer in individuals, especially smokers. High levels of radon exposure in homes can be reduced by measures such as enclosing basements.
The following factors may reduce the risk of lung cancer:
Diet
Some studies have shown that a high intake of fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of lung cancer. However, because smokers have poorer diets, this finding may be influenced by smoking factors.
Physical activity
Some studies have shown that vigorous physical activity reduces the risk of lung cancer. However, the intensity of physical activity tends to vary widely between smokers and nonsmokers, so it is difficult to determine whether physical activity affects the risk of lung cancer.
The following factors do not reduce the risk of lung cancer:
Beta-carotene supplementation in nonsmokers
Studies have shown that beta-carotene supplementation in nonsmokers does not reduce the risk of lung cancer.
Vitamin E supplementation
Studies have shown that vitamin E supplementation does not reduce the risk of lung cancer.
Using clinical trials to study cancer prevention
Clinical trial studies can be used to explore prevention measures for certain specific cancers. Some clinical trial studies use high-risk populations as study subjects; others use patients with tumors as study subjects to explore secondary tumor prevention measures; and still other clinical trials are conducted in healthy volunteers with unknown risk factors.
Some trials are designed to verify the effectiveness of preventive measures, including eating fruits and vegetables, exercising, quitting smoking, taking medications, and supplementing with vitamins, minerals, or food supplements.
Clinical trials are exploring new measures on how to prevent lung cancer.
Information on NCI-funded clinical trials can be found on the NCI Clinical Trials Search page. Clinical trials funded by other organizations can be searched at ClinicalTrials.gov.