Lung cancer an increasingly female disease - report

LUNG cancer is to become predominantly a female disease within 20 years, a comprehensive report to be published today by the Office of Tobacco Control (OTC) has found.

Writing in the introduction to the report, National Cancer Registry director Dr Harry Comber revealed the incidence of lung cancer among women is increasing by as much as 3% every year.

Increases in other cancers are also expected to follow the same trend showing a marked increase in occurrence in women when compared to men, said Dr Comber. “From being a predominantly male disease for the past 50 years, lung cancer will be a predominantly female disease by 2020. Increases in other cancers will follow the same trend.”