ROCHESTER, Minn.— World Cancer Day is February 4 and that makes this the ideal time to talk about lung cancer and smoking. Internationally, lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths and the World Health Organization estimates that 90% of cases could be prevented by eliminating tobacco use.
People who smoke are at the greatest risk. Smokeless tobacco is also associated with lung cancer. And lung cancer can occur in people who do not use tobacco.
"That's one of the misconceptions," says Aaron Mansfield, M.D., an oncologist at Mayo Clinic who specializes in lung cancer. "Although tobacco use is clearly the largest risk factor to develop lung cancer, there are many other risk factors, and risk factors we don't know. All you need to be at risk of developing lung cancer is a lung."
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