In the United States and elsewhere, there’s been a major shift in patients treated for lung cancer. As the percentage of people who smoke has declined over the decades, people who’ve never smoked have begun accounting for a greater proportion of lung cancer cases overall.
It’s not clear whether the number of “never-smokers” who get lung cancer is increasing in absolute terms, though some evidence suggests that might be the case. Regardless, the changing epidemiology of the disease is bringing new focus to the differences in how lung cancer manifests in patients who have used tobacco versus those who have not. It’s also raising questions about whether screening recommendations — which currently extend only to people who smoke or who have smoked — need to be updated.
