Cigarettes can kill anyone, but the risks are especially high for women. New studies suggest that women develop lung cancer at a younger age than men, and after fewer years of smoking. Why are women more susceptible? They may metabolize the carcinogens in tobacco differently, says University of Wisconsin oncologist Joan Schiller. Or their bodies may have more trouble repairing DNA damaged by the carcinogens in tobacco smoke. And estrogen may speed the growth of cancerous lung cells.
What will stop this scourge? Some doctors now use CT scans to check high-risk women for nascent tumors, but studies have not yet demonstrated the survival benefits. And last week researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reported that patients with a specific genetic mutation in their tumors–most often women and nonsmokers–were likely to see them shrink when they took the drug Iressa. A cheaper and surer strategy would be to stop glamorizing tobacco.
