20%-30% of lung cancer patients are non-smokers

Lung cancer is one of the more deadly cancers a person could be diagnosed with. The most prevalent cause of the disease comes from tobacco smoking, but the incidences of lung cancer has been increasing in Canadians who have never smoked: anywhere from 20% to 30% of total diagnoses, depending on the patient’s region.

“That means at least one in five new lung cancers are in people who have never smoked,” Dalhousie’s Dr. Robin Urquhart told CBC’s Maritime Noon in early April.

Dr. Urquhart and Pathology Research Director, Dr. Graham Dellaire, have assembled an inter-disciplinary team of Dalhousie researchers, and scientists from 6 provinces – Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia — and 1 US state — Iowa — to study biological factors and exposure to pollutants which could lead to lung cancer. Her and her team’s efforts have resulted in a $5.2 million grant from the Canadian Cancer Society to study the phenomenon and to identify biomarkers of exposure to carcinogens such as radon, arsenic, and other air pollutants. This new research funding provides needed resources for the study of Cancer risks of Arsenic and Radon environmental Exposures (CARE), for which the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and Research Nova Scotia awarded over $4.5 in infrastructure funding in 2021 to a cross-Canada team lead by Dr. Graham Dellaire and established by the Canadian Environmental Exposures in Cancer (CE2C) Network.

“We know that radon and arsenic are the two most important contributors to lung cancer in people who never smoked,” Dr. Urquart explains. “We also know in Canada the number one cause of lung cancer in people who never smoked is, in fact, radon. We also know that Atlantic Canadians are among the most radon-exposed people in the world.”  This new funding will also allow research to be expanded to the study of the biological effects of 2.5 micron particulate matter (PM2.5) in air pollution, which has been linked to lung diseases including lung cancer.

“A lot of provinces now are starting to implement lung cancer screening programs for high-risk individuals, and right now those are based on age and tobacco use,” Dr. Urquart continues. “If we can also develop and be able to calculate a person's individualized lung cancer risk and then show that they're at a high risk and therefore they need screening as well, that's going to save lives.”

Dr. Uruqhart’s interview can be heard on CBC News. For a complete list of the research team, visit the Canandian Cancer Society.

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