Some behaviors or characteristics increase your risk of getting lung cancer. Keep in mind that not everyone who has one of these risk factors will get lung cancer, and not everyone who gets lung cancer has one of these risk factors.
- Age. About two-thirds of people diagnosed with lung cancer are older than 65.
- Smoking tobacco. Smoking cigarettes, pipes, or cigars is the most prevalent risk factor for lung cancer. About 87 percent of lung cancer deaths are thought to be caused by smoking. Smoking for a long time or smoking many times a day increases the risk for lung cancer.
- Exposure to secondhand smoke. Even if you don’t smoke yourself, breathing in smoke from those smoking nearby increases your risk for lung cancer.
- Personal or family history of lung cancer. Once you have had lung cancer, you are at greater risk of developing it again. If your sibling or parent had lung cancer, you are also at greater risk for getting it. It is not certain whether that increased risk is because of inherited genes or because of shared environmental exposures in the home.
- Exposure to substances or chemicals. Exposure to certain substances in the workplace or at home can increase risk. These chemicals or compounds include:
- Arsenic in drinking water or in the air in the workplace.
- Asbestos in the workplace, such as in insulation, shipyards, or mines.
- Radon in the soil that contaminates the air in houses built on that soil, especially basements. Radon exposure is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers.
- Other possible workplace exposures including diesel exhaust, radioactive metals such as uranium, beryllium, cadmium, silica, vinyl chloride, nickel compounds, chromium compounds, coal products, mustard gas, and chloromethyl ethers.
- Air pollution. Especially in cities, air pollution slightly raises risk of lung cancer.
- Genetic mutations. People with certain genetic mutations, such as epidermal growth-factor receptor (EGFR) and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), may be more likely to develop certain kinds of lung cancer. Learn about targeted therapies being used to treat lung cancer in people with these mutations.
- Prior radiation therapy to the lungs. People who have had radiation to the chest to treat other cancers are at higher risk for lung cancer, especially if they smoke.
The Duke Cancer Institute has a lung cancer screening clinic for patients who are at high risk for the development of lung cancer. Learn more about lung cancer computed tomography screening.
Learn more about lung cancer:
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