Recent epidemiologic findings suggest that women may be more susceptible to the effects of tobacco smoke than are men. A number of studies have shown that women who are exposed to tobacco smoke, whether active or passive, are at greater risk of developing lung cancer than are men.
One study suggests that the GRPR (gastrin-releasing peptide receptor) gene is expressed more often in women than in men, even in the absence of tobacco smoke, and that it is expressed earlier in women who are exposed to tobacco smoke. The study indicated that the risk for female smokers with the active gene was 12 times higher than that for nonsmokers compared with men who smoke, for whom the risk is 2.4 times higher1
In the last decade, the incidence of lung cancer in men in the United States has been leveling off, while it continues to rise at a steady rate in women.2
1 Shriver SP et al. JNCI. 2000;92(1).
2 Zang EA, Wynder EL. Differences in lung cancer risk between men and women: examination of the evidence. JNCI. 1996;88(3/4):183-192.
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