Lung Cancer Rates Rise Among Nonsmoking Asian American and Latina Women Amid Limited Screening Access

Lung cancer rates among nonsmoking Asian American women have increased, according to a 2023 study. The study found that rates rose by 2 percent annually between 2007 and 2018 for this group, while rates decreased in every other demographic. About 50 percent of Asian American women diagnosed with lung cancer have never smoked, with rates reaching 80 percent among Chinese American women and 86 percent among Indian American women.

Hispanic women also face elevated risks, with approximately 40 percent of lung cancer cases occurring in never-smokers, compared to 20 percent for white women and 14 percent for Black women. The Boston Globe reported these disparities based on research and statements from medical professionals.

Federal guidelines for lung cancer screening, established in 2013 following the National Lung Screening Trial, require individuals to be aged 50 to 80, currently smoke or have quit within the last 15 years, and have a smoking history equivalent to one pack per day for 20 years.

These criteria determine eligibility for annual low-dose CT scans, which health insurance providers cover for qualifying individuals.

Scans can cost up to $400 out of pocket for those who do not qualify. The guidelines were expanded in 2021 to include more women and Black smokers, increasing the number of eligible individuals for testing. Nonsmoking Asian American and Latina women often do not meet these criteria despite higher incidence rates.

Dr. Narjust Florez, an oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute specializing in lung cancer in women, stated that the disease affects mothers in this population without sufficient awareness or screening access.

“Mothers are being taken away by this disease, and no one is talking about it.”

Bettina Ko, a 68-year-old woman from Northborough whose family is from Taiwan, discovered her lung cancer incidentally during a chest CT scan for an autoimmune condition affecting her thymus gland. She had never smoked, experienced no cough or pain, and had no family history of lung cancer.

Ko learned she was the fourth nonsmoking Asian American woman in her friend group to be diagnosed, with two friends dying from the disease. Ko stated that she received regular mammograms and colonoscopies but was unaware of lung cancer screening options for her demographic.

Research points to possible risk factors for nonsmokers, including inhalation of cooking oil vapors without proper ventilation, exposure to poor air quality, and certain occupations such as mining and truck driving. Dr. Sucharita Kher, a Tufts Medicine pulmonologist and director of the Tufts Asian Lung Clinic, noted that the reasons for higher rates in Asian and Hispanic women remain unclear and may involve unidentified genetic variations.

in these groups who develop lung cancer are more likely to have an EGFR mutation, which responds to specific treatments, according to Kher. The Boston-area researchers and advocates working on risk disparities called for expanded screening to address these trends. Current guidelines limit early detection for many at-risk nonsmokers, potentially affecting timely care.