Why Are So Many Young, Fit, Non-Smoking Women Getting Lung Cancer?

Posted4 months agoActive4 months ago

n1b0m

37 points

23 comments

theguardian.comResearchstory

calmnegative

Debate

60/100

Lung CancerEnvironmental HealthWomen's Health

Key topics

Lung Cancer

Environmental Health

Women's Health

The Guardian article discusses the rising incidence of lung cancer among young, fit, non-smoking women, sparking discussion on potential environmental and lifestyle factors contributing to this trend.

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Sep 14, 2025 at 9:16 AM EDT
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Discussion (23 comments)

Showing 23 comments

pmdulaney

4 months ago

2 replies

A recent news story says that marathoners are at heightened risk for bowel cancer. Could it be that these women are exercising excessively?

kashunstva

4 months ago

3 replies

I think the data presented at ASCO this year showed an increase in adenomas (benign, potential precursors of colon cancer) among marathoners. It’s unknown yet whether the that translates into an increase incidence of colon cancer in this population, though it would be prudent to assume so for now. The study was smallish n=100 IIRC so more research is warranted. Interesting to consider the biological mechanisms if this relationship holds up.

amanaplanacanal

4 months ago

I wonder if this has more to do with the diet of marathoners than the running.

browningstreet

4 months ago

I think about this TED Talk from 2012 a lot.. and he presents some data. It changed some of my goals, and I’m a bit more multi-sport than I used to be.

Run for your life! At a comfortable pace, and not too far: James O'Keefe at TED×UMKC

https://youtu.be/Y6U728AZnV0?si=EI8ubUwEr4KqR2PC

pmdulaney

4 months ago

Thanks for your very knowledgeable response!

groggler

4 months ago

1 reply

Given that exercise in moderation reduces cancer risk, I find this take a bit odd. There are plenty of environmental problems that only fit women would be highly exposed to. I.e. due to demographic differences in sport popularity, a fit male is less likely to spend significant time on a synthetic yoga mat in a generally high pollutant indoor environment with a high breathing rate.

joseda-hg

4 months ago

1 reply

Moderation being the keyword, a marathon is definitionally about doing more than moderate exercise

There's a lot of body stress on repairing, maintaining and improving endurance

Maybe that skyrockets cellular division which would maybe would explain some of the impact?

groggler

4 months ago

1 reply

Still.. if you asked me why marathon runners had bowel cancer I would say that they eat more low fiber carbs than is possible for a normal person..

The theory that exercise is harmful seems more like a fanciful wish than a probability given other correlation in environment and behavior where much of our environment is poorly tested and probably harmful.

stevesimmons

4 months ago

1 reply

I find this a curious hypothesis, to say the least.

So I'm a marathon runner (ran a 3:08 marathon this morning, actually, at age 55). The carbs I eat are neither excessive, nor low fibre.

And all the endurance athletes I know are extremely aware of their diets and the importance of eating the right mix of high quality foods.

groggler

4 months ago

https://www.runnersworld.com/uk/nutrition/recipes/g29413408/...

throwaway_5753

4 months ago

1 reply

Is the incidence increasing for young women or are anti smoking measures just reducing rates in old men and thus the overall demographics of those being diagnosed are changing?

IshKebab

4 months ago

1 reply

Both

> cases among fit, young, non-smoking women have risen, both as a proportion and in absolute numbers

moi2388

4 months ago

1 reply

Maybe there are just more fit, non-smoking women now?

IshKebab

4 months ago

Yeah definitely a possibility. The auricle also doesn't give any actual numbers in absolute terms so it might be a tiny increase.

Havoc

4 months ago

1 reply

Complete speculation, but some sort of component of makeup routine being inhaled does seem plausible.

e.g. EU did just ban a nail polish remover chemical (though think that was more reproductive health than carcinogenic)

randycupertino

4 months ago

Hair products as well, especially those that react with heat (ie Brazilian blowouts, etc). https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/21/health/brazilian-blowout-...

MandieD

4 months ago

2 replies

I wonder if there’s any connection to getting and maintaining (“filling”) artificial nails. It would be interesting to also look at lung cancer incidence in nail salon workers, by which I mean “probably horrifying.”

The smell of the various chemicals is off-putting enough to make me not want to visit a nail salon for a pedicure, and of course that is far less exposure than the employees are getting.

potato3732842

4 months ago

That would be easy to detect because in all likelihood the people who do that for work would be keeling over in high numbers.

steve1977

4 months ago

You could probably generalize that to other cosmetics.

LargoLasskhyfv

4 months ago

Cosmetics, perfumes, desodorants, hair-dye/spray, dyes in textiles, all sorts of modern stuff gassing off VOCs...

jdmoreira

4 months ago

I'm just going to say something I know nothing about but just some intuition.

Women are exposed to so much crap all the time. Sprays, perfumes, creams, scented candles, candles, incense, etc etc.

renewiltord

4 months ago

I suppose if it were something like essential oil diffusers or something it would have shown up in the families of these women but what if they were single? I don’t even know if they use them but it is a stereotypically young woman thing.

Regardless, I wonder if there is a non invasive early test for this.

metabagel

4 months ago

This is what comes to mind for me.

https://www.mesotheliomaguide.com/community/types-of-cancer-...

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