Women Never-Smokers Face Higher Lung Cancer Risk

A new article from GatewayC is drawing attention to an important and often overlooked issue: lung cancer in people who have never smoked, and why women carry more of this burden than men.

Lung cancer in never-smokers (LCINS) is now estimated to be the fifth leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Despite this, many people still associate lung cancer only with smoking. This can lead to delays in recognising symptoms and delays in diagnosis - especially for women and younger people.

GatewayC’s piece highlights a key finding from global research:
women who have never smoked are more than twice as likely to develop lung cancer as male never-smokers.

This pattern has been seen for years across Europe, the UK, the US and East Asia, yet awareness remains low in primary care. LCINS also has a different biological profile, with higher rates of EGFR, ALK, ROS1, HER2 and other genomic drivers. These cancers often need different treatments, and early testing is essential.

Why this matters

People who have never smoked often struggle to have their symptoms taken seriously. Many describe long waits, repeated reassurance, or having their concerns put down to asthma, anxiety, perimenopause, or infections.

Common symptoms of lung cancer include:

• a persistent cough

• breathlessness

• repeated chest infections

• chest or shoulder pain

• unexplained fatigue

• weight loss

If these symptoms continue or feel unusual for you, it’s important to be checked - regardless of smoking history.

Thank you to GatewayC

We’re grateful to GatewayC for including All You Need Is Lungs in the resource list at the end of their article. Raising awareness of LCINS, especially among GPs and primary care teams, is essential if we want people to be diagnosed earlier and have better outcomes.

You can read the full GatewayC article HERE.