New Delhi: Lung cancer is the leading cause of death across the world. India is the second highest contributor to lung disease in Asia, registering about 12 lakh new cancer cases and 9.3 lakh deaths in 2019, according to a study published in The Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia Journal. The major driving forces behind lung cancer include, smoking tobacco, and second-hand or passive smoking but a recent study finds something surprising and unique. The study highlighted that most lung cancer patients in India never smoked and that air pollution can cause lung cancer even in non-smokers.
Scientists in a new study have found that lung cancer in Southeast Asia is different from other parts of Asia and the West. They also found that the genetic makeup of lung cancer in India is ‘shaped by the complex diversity of its population.
The study has been published in The Lancet’s eClinical Medicine Journal that revealed that lung cancer in India appears around a decade prior than in the Western countries particularly among the age group of 54 to 70. The condition is partly due to India’s younger population (median age of 28.2 years) compared to the USA (38 years) and China (39 years).
Air pollution and genetic mutations play a role
Further, the study highlighted, that the unique regional risk factors like air pollution and genetic mutations play a major role. Moreover, the male-to-female ratio of lung cancer cases indicates higher tobacco use among men (42.4 per cent as compared to 14.2 per cent among women as well.
The incidence rate of lung cancer has spiked from 6.62 per 100,000 in 1990 to 7.7 per 100,000 in 2019 with a significant jump expected in the urban areas by 2025. Apart from this, researchers from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, studied the impact of climate change on lung cancer in Asia.
They found that China, India, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand are the worst hit by the national disasters in Asia and these countries had the highest lung cancer cases in 2020 with over 9.65 lakh new cases, noted the researchers in the study.
Scientists in a new study have found that lung cancer in Southeast Asia is different from other parts of Asia and the West. They also found that the genetic makeup of lung cancer in India is ‘shaped by the complex diversity of its population. Health Conditions Health News: Latest News from Health Care, Mental Health, Weight Loss, Disease, Nutrition, Healthcare
