TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Neoplasms of the Lung A1 - Horn, Leora A1 - Lovly, Christine M. A1 - Johnson, David H. A2 - Longo, Dan L. Y1 - 2016 N1 - T2 - Harrison's Hematology and Oncology, 3e AB - Lung cancer, which was rare prior to 1900 with fewer than 400 cases described in the medical literature, is considered a disease of modern man. By the mid-twentieth century, lung cancer had become epidemic and firmly established as the leading cause of cancer-related death in North America and Europe, killing over three times as many men as prostate cancer and nearly twice as many women as breast cancer. This fact is particularly troubling because lung cancer is one of the most preventable of all of the major malignancies. Tobacco consumption is the primary cause of lung cancer, a reality firmly established in the mid-twentieth century and codified with the release of the U.S. Surgeon General’s 1964 report on the health effects of tobacco smoking. Following the report, cigarette use started to decline in North America and parts of Europe, and with it, so did the incidence of lung cancer. To date, the decline in lung cancer is seen most clearly in men; only recently has the decline become apparent among women in the United States. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, especially in countries with developing economies, cigarette use continues to increase, and along with it, the incidence of lung cancers is also rising. Although tobacco smoking remains the primary cause of lung cancer worldwide, approximately 60% of new lung cancers in the United States occur in former smokers (smoked ≥100 cigarettes per lifetime, quit ≥1 year), many of whom quit decades ago, or never smokers (smoked <100 cigarettes per lifetime). Moreover, one in five women and one in 12 men diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked. Given the magnitude of the problem, it is incumbent that every internist has a general knowledge of lung cancer and its management. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/19 UR - hemonc.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1135229331 ER -