Lung cancer has become the most frequent malignancy in the world, with global incidence increasing by 0.5% per year. A substantial part of this increase is being attributed to the ?smoking epidemic? that is spreading through developing countries ? one of the undesirable results from increasing living standards. In North America, men have heeded warnings more than women; the effect can already be seen (prostate and colon cancer will soon overtake lung cancer). However, female smokers are still on the increase and the peak of cancer incidence has not even been reached, although it has already surpassed breast cancer. Two factors may be contributing to this phenomenon: women now smoke more and start at an earlier age ? and there may be sex differences in the risk of developing lung cancer.
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