Women’s Lung-Cancer Risk Double Men’s

Women who smoke face twice the risk of contracting lung cancer compared to men, says a new study.

A study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association of 17,000 U.S. smokers appears to back up the theory that women’s chances of getting the deadly disease are double that of their male counterparts.

But in an intriguing twist, the same data suggest that female smokers also have better odds of beating lung cancer than men who smoke.

These findings highlight the need to educate younger women that they are at higher risk of developing lung cancer, even when they’re smoking the same amount as men, said lead study author CLaudia Henschke, professor of radiology at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. Based on their excess vulnerability to tobacco smoke, women may also need to get screened for lung cancer earlier than men, she said.