Traditionally there has been a notable and statistically significant difference in lung cancer cases between men and women. Although the patient profile he was an old man, for years specialists have been detecting a growing incidence in women. The main cause, the late incorporation of them into the smoking, responsible for 90% of lung cancers.
This is what the report shows Mortality patterns in Spain, which has just been published by the Ministry of Health. In this it becomes clear how the Mortality gap between both sexes due to this tumor is decreasing. If in 2001 the male rate was 10 times higher than the female rate, in 2020 it is only 3.9 times higher.
This increase in mortality from lung cancer, which has been observed for some time in women, “is a reflection of their late incorporation into tobacco use,” according to what can be extracted from the report. In other words, having started later, they are also leaving it later, as reflected in the figures.
Between 2001 and 2020 The age-adjusted mortality rate for this cause of death attributable to smoking has increased 98% in women, while in men it has decreased by 29%.
In addition to this tumor, smoking can cause other types of cancer, such as laryngeal or esophageal cancer, also causing respiratory diseases among other conditions. Thus, enlarging the photograph, in In 2020, tobacco produced 95,526 deaths in Spain related to this habit.
Lung cancer could become the deadliest female tumor
It is one of the most common types of cancer in our country and the one that kills the most. In 2021, 22,413 Spaniards died from lung cancer.
Its lethality is due to the fact that few are detected in its early stages, since its symptoms usually appear late or go unnoticed. With a 5-year survival rate of around 20%.
Lung cancer accounts for 13.9% of all cancers in men, being the second most frequent, while in women represents 7.2% of all cancers, already being the most common after breast and colorectal cancers, according to the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM).
By 2023, more than 31,000 new cases will be diagnosed. Of them, the SEOM calculates that 9,016 will occur in women. Thus, the Lung cancer remains the third most incident tumor in women for another yearsince in 2019 it went from being the fourth most diagnosed female tumor in women in the estimates for the year 2015 to the third most incident.
This should be taken into account for End the stigma that it is a “man’s disease”, which could lead to ignoring the symptoms. One of the most characteristic is a persistent cough that does not improve. Shortness of breath, chest pain, or hoarseness are other signs that can alert of their presence.
Expert forecasts are that the female incidence, which is already three times that of 2001, will continue to increase along with mortality, to the point that in the next 2 or 3 years lung cancer is expected to be the most lethal.
