Women Younger Than 50 Are More Likely to Have Lung Cancer Than Men: Study

American men used to have higher rates of lung cancer, but a new study shows more women are being diagnosed with the deadly disease.

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The number of patients being diagnosed with lung cancer has shifted, with higher incidence among younger women now than younger men, according to the American Cancer Society. A new study shows that the trend is also spilling into older age groups of women.

The authors of the paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Oncology examined the incidence rates of lung and bronchus cancer diagnoses from 2000 to 2019 in five-year increments, focusing on patient sex, age, and year of diagnosis.