Panaji, Sep 9 : The rising number of women among lung cancer patients in Goa requires an urgent investigation into possible risk factors, including second-hand smoke, environmental pollution and occupational exposures, an anti-tobacco advocacy group has said.
Goa reports 120 to 150 new lung cancer cases annually. While women accounted for around 10 per cent of the cases about a decade ago, their proportion has risen to nearly 40 per cent in recent years, the National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE) India claimed on Tuesday.
"This is a significant epidemiological shift and it cannot be ignored. While tobacco smoking remains one of the most important risk factors for lung cancer, the increasing proportion of women among lung cancer patients in Goa warrants a systematic investigation into the reasons behind this change," NOTE India president Dr Shekhar Salkar said in a statement.
The organisation urged the Goa government, medical institutions and academic research organisations to undertake a comprehensive study of the changing lung cancer profile in the coastal state.
Deaths attributable to second-hand smoke in India rose from around 2.17 lakh in 1990 to an estimated 3.26 lakh in 2023, it said, citing a study published in The Lancet.
The number of people exposed to second-hand smoke in the country was estimated at around 44.4 crore in 2023, up from 37.5 crore in 1990, it added.
The study also estimated that second-hand smoke was associated with increased risks of several serious health conditions, including lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lower respiratory infections, ischemic heart disease, breast cancer, asthma and stroke, according to the organisation.
Salkar said the changing gender profile of lung cancer in Goa should be examined particularly among women who have never been active smokers.
"Exposure to tobacco smoke at home, in the workplace or in other enclosed environments can have serious consequences. We need to understand how much of the changing lung cancer burden among women in Goa could potentially be linked to passive smoking and other preventable exposures," he said.
A state-level epidemiological study should examine the incidence of lung cancer among women over the past decade, smoking status, exposure to second-hand smoke, indoor and outdoor air pollution, household fuel use, occupational and environmental exposures, age-wise and geographical distribution of cases, and the clinical and pathological characteristics of lung cancer.
"We should not jump to conclusions about the cause of this increase. But equally, we cannot afford to ignore the signal. A change of this magnitude in the male-to-female ratio needs to be investigated urgently," Salkar said.
The NGO also stressed the need to protect non-smokers from involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke and called for stronger enforcement of smoke-free laws.
"Second-hand smoke is an invisible exposure, but its consequences are very real. Women and children who do not smoke should not have to bear the health consequences of another person's tobacco use," Salkar said.
