The Epidemiology of Lung Cancer

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Abstract
A retrospective epidemiologic investigation of 350 lung cancer patients confirmed the close association between cigarette smoking and lung cancer, particularly of the squamous and oat cell types. New trends in this study show that there is a decrease in relative risk for those patients developing lung cancer ten years after they have switched to filter cigarettes, possibly due to the lower "tar" content in filter cigarettes smoked by these patients. The risk also declines after complete cessation of smoking and appears to approach the level of nonsmokers after 13 years of not smoking. Further efforts to produce less harmful tobacco products should be continued and expanded although no smoking or cessation of smoking is the most effective prevention against lung cancer.