A study looked at the risk factors for developing small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in never-smokers.
A study published in the European Respiratory Journal, looked at the risk factors for developing small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in never-smokers.
Researchers aimed to describe the characteristics of never-smoking small cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients using a study that was performed in a number of hospitals in the northwest of Spain.
Cases of SCLC were selected from the Lung Cancer Risk in Never Smokers Study (LCRINS) and all participants were never-smokers.
Information was collected on the most important and known risk factors for lung cancer in never-smokers, including residential radon exposure, Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) exposure and occupation.
Results showed that the only risk factor that appeared to be associated with SCLC was residential radon. The concentration of radon reported was higher than that observed in the general population recruited in the same area.
In conclusion, researchers found that SCLC in never-smokers is very infrequent with the age of diagnosis higher than that observed for never-smokers with adenocarcinoma. More studies are needed to obtain a deeper understanding of its risk factors combined with its biological characteristics.
The research was published in the European Respiratory Journal, December 2015.