Now doctors face new cancer crisis – mystery rise of lung tumors in young people who’ve NEVER smoked

As scientists work to unravel the mysterious increase in cases of early-onset colon cancer, a new worrying trend has emerged.

Lung cancer rates, which have been declining for decades as the world cuts smoking, are now rising among young, otherwise healthy people who have never smoked.

One in 10 lung cancer diagnoses in the US are in patients under the age of 55, but the number of early cases has increased over the past two decades. And the share of these young patients who have never smoked cigarettes is also growing.

Researchers believe the way new homes are built may be exposing residents to a toxic gas. They also say vaping and cannabis could be factors.

Matt Hiznay, who shared his story at ASCO, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2011. He was only 24 years old

Researchers presenting at ASCO in Chicago said lung cancer is increasing among young Americans due to exposure to chemicals, vaping and genetic mutations, not just smoking.

Lung cancer is the deadliest form of the disease, accounting for one in five cancer deaths in the US. In addition to more than 230,000 diagnoses, 125,000 Americans are expected to die from the disease this year.

Although most patients are over 70, Dr. Laura Mezquita, a medical oncologist in Spain, said this weekend during a panel at the world’s largest cancer research conference that there is an “increased incidence” in Americans under 50.

Besides smoking, “we also have to consider other aspects,” she said.

Science has long established that smoking definitively causes lung cancer and is the main risk factor for the disease.

While smokers make up as many as 90 percent of older lung cancer patients, this number drops to 71 percent in younger patients.

Young patients also have significantly shorter exposures, with an average of 11.5 years compared to 49 years in older patients.

“The shift in the perception that smoking is trendy further reduces the proportion of smoking among the young population,” the researchers wrote in a report published ahead of ASCO.

According to recent data from Pew Research, only 10 percent of young adults said they smoked between 2019 and 2023, compared to 35 percent from 2001 to 2003. This, the team says, points to a near-trough.

‘Therefore, new evidence is emerging regarding exposure to group 1 carcinogens, in addition to tobacco, where the potency… level of exposure… may play a more important role in younger patients.’

The above shows lung cancer cases among men and women, broken down by age groups. This shows that the disease is now more common in younger women, compared to other groups

Tiffany Job, 40, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer after mistaking her symptoms for a pulled muscle. She had never smoked

Group 1 carcinogens are substances that have been proven to cause cancer. Besides smoking, others include air pollution and ultraviolet radiation.

“Radon gas is a primary cause of lung cancer among nonsmokers and the second leading cause among smokers,” the researchers wrote.

Radon is an invisible, odorless gas produced by the decay of uranium in rocks, soil and water. The World Health Organization estimates that radon is responsible for three to fourteen percent of lung cancers.

“Radon is the leading cause of cancer in non-smokers,” said Dr. Mezquita. ‘Radon is also a risk factor in young populations.’

She said this could be due to exposure to radon in homes from birth, which could enter the home through contaminated soil.

In addition, there is a 2019 report in it Nature found that radon exposure in homes is increasing because modern construction is more airtight.

Dr. Mezquita also pointed to vaping, which she noted is “prevalent among younger populations.”

Much of the science is unclear, but some recent reports have suggested that vaping may increase the risk of lung cancer, especially in those who have previously smoked.

A first-of-its-kind study from Seoul, South Korea, analyzed health data from 4.3 million former smokers and found that those who switched to vaping were twice as likely to die from lung cancer, compared to those who went cold turkey.

Additionally, the ASCO researchers noted that marijuana could worsen risks in young people who smoke.

‘Cannabis consumption often occurs in combination with tobacco, which poses challenges for separate evaluation. Emerging evidence has linked it to more aggressive forms of lung cancer among young patients,” the team wrote.

Dr. Mezquita said that while there is evidence pointing to all of these factors, there is not just one to blame. “This isn’t just radon, this isn’t just air pollution, this isn’t just smoking. It’s an interaction between all these risk factors.’

During ASCO, lung cancer survivor and scientist Dr. Matt Hiznay, 37, from Ohio, took the stage to explain how being diagnosed with lung cancer as a young adult affected him.

In 2011, Dr. Hiznay was diagnosed with stage four adenocarcinoma after several months of persistent coughing and pain in his back and chest. He was only 24 and had never smoked.

“There were really no warning signs at all,” he said. “Cancer wasn’t anywhere on the radar.”

‘You are at the beginning of your life. When you are young and diagnosed, it is very difficult to see into the future. Thoughts of the future are gone.”

Although he never smoked and had no family history of lung cancer, Dr. Hiznay tested positive for a mutation of his EML4-ALK gene.

Last reports have shown that EML4-ALK patients are ‘significantly’ younger than patients with other mutations such as the more common EGFR. The median age of these patients was 52, compared with 66 in the control group.

Dr. Hiznay suffered two relapses, but has been cancer-free since 2015. “As a 12-year survivor, I made a lot of friends in the lung cancer survivor community, and I survived them all, and that’s something I carry with me. ‘ he said.