Epidemiology & Lung Cancer

Epidemiology is the study of the incidence and distribution of disease. Researchers examine the prevalence of lung cancer in particular groups and evaluate the association between lung cancer with behavioral, social and environmental factors.

History

• In 1954, Dr. Richard Doll and Tony Bradford Hill published the landmark paper in the British Medical Journal linking smoking with lung cancer. By examining the smoking habits of 34,000 British doctors, they showed a dose-response relationship between the number of cigarettes smoked and increased mortality due to lung cancer.

More Recent Studies

• Epidemiological studies published by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 1993 shows that exposure to second-hand smoke is a risk factor for lung cancer.

Radon

• The first large-scale study on the relationship between radon and lung cancer began in 1973 in Iowa. This study showed that women with cumulative radon exposure have higher rates of lung cancer.

Location

• According to the Medicine World website, Scotland and Wales have the highest rates of lung cancer in the world. In the United States, the highest rates are in the northern urban areas and along the southern coast from Florida to Texas.

Speculation

• Given that smoking has declined, epidemiologists at Johns Hopkins University anticipate that lung cancer rates will decrease as well. They anticipate that the decrease will level out around 2030.