Lung cancer has moved from third to second place among women in Belgium and, according to the Cancer Foundation, this is “is directly linked to the increase in female smoking that we have seen in our country over the past few years."
"What’s more, this cancer remains difficult to treat and has a severe prognosis,” the Cancer Foundation warned on Monday.
The Foundation is sounding the alarm over the new figures. “The increase in smoking among women in recent years is behind the rise in these new lung cancer diagnoses,” it explains, calling for more prevention.
Lung cancer was in second place among men in 2021, with 5,675 new cases recorded in 2021. It is now also in second place among women, with more than 3,500 new cases, after breast cancer and ahead of colon cancer.
In terms of mortality, lung cancer claimed almost 6,000 victims in 2021, with 3,673 deaths in men and 1,994 in women. The five-year rate of survival after diagnosis remains very low: 22.8% in men and 31.4% in women.
“Tobacco is responsible for 90% of these cancers. It is therefore essential to continue to promote prevention, to support smokers in giving up smoking, and to do everything possible to achieve the goal of a tobacco-free generation,” the Cancer Foundation concluded.
