• E-mail
• Print
• RSS

Lung-cancer symptoms differ between genders

Respiratory Care Weekly, May 10, 2006

While previous studies have shown that women smokers may be more susceptible to lung cancer, a new study in the May issue of Chest shows that lung function tests performed soon after a woman gets diagnosed with cancer show normal stats. However, male smokers more frequently show chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) symptoms, including reduced lung function, at the time of cancer diagnosis. This study suggests women might need different cancer screening criteria.

"The absence of COPD should not lower the risk in a female patient who is otherwise considered to be at increased likelihood for developing lung cancer," said Raghu Loganathan, MD, FCCP, Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center, Bronx, NY in the article. "Physicians must consider additional (and well-established) risk factors, such as smoking history and age of the patient, when contemplating lung cancer screening."

• E-mail to a Colleague
• Print
• RSS
• Archive