Rafael Marcos Gragera
Epidemiologist at the Catalan Institute of Oncology and professor of medicine at the University of Girona
This research, led by Dr. Freddie Bray and colleagues at the International Agency for Research on Cancer, sheds light on geographic variations and generational changes in lung cancer cases worldwide.
The study analyzes data from the GLOBOCAN platform, which encompasses data from all population-based cancer registries worldwide.
The study estimates that there were approximately 1.57 million new cases of lung cancer among men and 908,000 among women in 2022. Adenocarcinoma was the predominant subtype, accounting for 45.6% of male cases and 59.7% of female cases, indicating a shift from squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), which historically was the most common in many regions. This shift is believed to be influenced by changes in smoking patterns and exposure to environmental pollutants.
Histologic type is also considered an important prognostic factor that is also changing trends in lung cancer survival, along with the advent of immunotherapy, as this recently published paper notes.
An innovative aspect of the study was the evaluation of adenocarcinoma cases attributable to particulate matter (PM) air pollution. It was estimated that 114,486 cases in men and 80,378 in women were related to air pollution, with East Asia, especially China, being the most affected region. These findings highlight the increasing role of environmental factors in the epidemiology of lung cancer, which calls for urgent public health interventions.
The methodology of the study is well suited to assess the impact of lung cancer on society and to evaluate trends in recent years.
This research underscores the urgent need to develop tailored public health strategies to combat lung cancer. With tobacco control efforts showing effectiveness in reducing squamous cell carcinoma rates, attention must now turn to environmental policies targeting air pollution. In addition, continued monitoring of lung cancer trends in younger generations will be crucial to the formulation of effective prevention and treatment programs.