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Fact check: Research shows lung cancer is more common in women

Cardiologist Dr. Payal Kohli said modern medicine has made tremendous strides when it comes to lung cancer diagnosis and treatment.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Research from the American Cancer Society shows more cases of lung cancer are being reported among younger women, reversing historical patterns.

It might sound concerning, but doctors say there is some good news. Lung cancer cases overall are declining.

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Kohli said modern medicine has made tremendous strides when it comes to lung cancer diagnosis and treatment, but still, the numbers are worth considering.  

"That gender gap, we're doing better in men than we are women with respect to treatment sort of persists," Kohli said. 

While doctors don’t know why this is, Kohli said it's possible men now have fewer occupational exposures like asbestos than they did in the 1970s and ‘80s.

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"So maybe we're just doing better in terms of protecting our men, and not worse in terms of exposing our women," she said. 

However, Kohli and Choi both agree the biggest risk factor for developing lung cancer is smoking.

"The most important risk factor is still cigarette smoking, so the most important thing to prevent lung cancer among everyone is really to never smoke or to quit as soon as possible," Choi said. 

And while it might seem intimidating, doctors say anyone eligible for a yearly lung cancer screening should get one.

"Because we know that if we find cancer early, if it's a solid cancer, it's curable," Kohli said. "On the other hand, if we find it too late, it can certainly be devastating." 

According to the American Cancer Society, current guidelines recommend screenings for people 50 to 80 years old who smoke or formerly smoked and have smoked at least a pack a day for 20 years. 

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