Abstract
Lung cancer is a major health problem for both men and women, not only because of
the high incidence rate but, more alarming, the high mortality rate. The prevalence
of lung cancer in women has been increasing worldwide. In the United States, lung
cancer is currently the leading cause of cancer death in women, and this may well
be the case in European countries in just a few years. The most important risk factors
for the development of lung cancer in both men and women is cigarette smoking. Smoking
among women has increased significantly since the 1960s, and, unfortunately, the risk
of death from cigarette smoking continues to increase among women. Although epidemiological
data remain controversial regarding the increased risk of lung cancer from tobacco
exposure in women, there is little controversy surrounding the fact that the biology
of lung cancer differs between the sexes. This paper summarizes the explanations for
the sex differences in lung cancer, including differences in molecular abnormalities,
growth factor receptors, hormonal influences, cytochrome P-450 enzymes, and DNA repair
capacity, as well as differences in the histology of lung cancer and treatment outcomes
in women.
Keywords
lung cancer in women - non–small cell lung cancer - small cell lung cancer - sex differences
in lung cancer - DNA repair - estrogen receptor - hormonal factors - cancer of the
lung in women - growth factor receptors
