Descriptive Epidemiology
The population chosen for this study is the smoking men and women living in the United States of America. Over the last several decades, lung and bronchus cancer has been one of the most often diagnosed cancers (Lin et al., 2019). In the U.S., it is the second most common cancer after prostate cancer in males and after breast cancer in females (Schabath & Cote, 2019). According to researchers, the highest rates of incidence occur among North American females (30.7 per 100,000) (Schabath & Cote, 2019, p. 1563). The leading risk factor for lung and bronchus cancer is tobacco use, and it accounts for eighty to ninety percent of all cases (“State of lung cancer,” 2020). Considering an increasing number of smoking teenagers and young people, it is a severe problem.
Compared to never smokers, smoking men and women are twenty-three and thirteen times accordingly more likely to develop lung cancer (“Lung cancer fact sheet,” 2020). Therefore, quitting smoking increases the chances of avoiding this disease, but never smokers are even more unlikely to be diagnosed with it (Piñeros et al., 2016). Fortunately, the decline in incidence has gained momentum in the past decade. Researchers note that “while the disease remains the leading cause of cancer deaths among both women and men, over the past five years, the survival rate has increased by a dramatic 13% to 22.6%” (“State of lung cancer,” 2020, para. 1).
It is believed that approximately twenty million adults will continue to smoke in 2065, and more than four million deaths from lung cancer are expected in America from 2015 to 2065 (Jeon et al., 2018). Scientists also noted that “under the assumption of continued decreases in smoking, age-adjusted lung cancer mortality was projected to decrease by 79% between 2015 and 2065” (Jeon et al., 2018, p. 686). Therefore, though it is a rather severe medical condition, it is possible to achieve a higher survival rate.
Background
It is stated that lung and bronchus cancer significantly contribute to cancer mortality and morbidity, which is a serious problem for the American population. It should be noted that the anti-smoking efforts that have been made in the U.S. since the 1960s are indeed effective and have led to a significant reduction in smoking and smoking-related diseases, namely lung and bronchus cancer (Piñeros et al., 2016). However, tobacco is still the leading cause of this disease, and many people refuse to quit smoking (Schabath & Cote, 2019). Major advances in the management, diagnosis, treatment, and staging of lung cancer, as well as increased awareness of smokers, are necessary steps to reduce the incidence of this disease among smoking adults in the U.S.
Rationale for the Topic Choice
This topic seems to be especially serious and important due to the number of smoking Americans, as well as the rates of morbidity and mortality among women and men who use tobacco. Many adolescents and young people start smoking without realizing the risk of developing lung cancer or simply not believing scientists and medical workers. Therefore, it is of vital importance to study this topic and the possibility of reducing mortality. Moreover, as there are positive changes, namely, the decline in incidence and the increase in the survival rate, it is essential now to make people aware of the necessity to reduce or quit smoking. Another reason for choosing this topic for the research paper is the extended number of peer-reviewed and relevant sources and data available online.
References
Jeon, J., Holford, T. R., Levy, D. T., Feuer, E. J., Cao, P., Tam, J., Clarke, L., Clarke, J., Kong, C. Y., & Meza, R. (2018). Smoking and lung cancer mortality in the United States from 2015 to 2065: A comparative modeling approach. Annals of internal medicine, 169(10), 684-693.
Lin, H. T., Liu, F. C., Wu, C. Y., Kuo, C. F., Lan, W. C., Yu, H. P. (2019). Epidemiology and survival outcomes of lung cancer: A population-based study. BioMed Research International, 2019, 1-19.
Lung cancer fact sheet. (2020). American Lung Association. Web.
Piñeros, M., Sierra, M. S., Forman, D. (2016). Descriptive epidemiology of lung cancer and current status of tobacco control measures in Central and South America. Cancer Epidemiology, 44(1), 90-99.
Schabath, M. B., & Cote, M. L. (2019). Cancer progress and priorities: Lung cancer. American Association for Cancer Research, 28(10), 1563-1579.
State of lung cancer [PDF document]. (2020). Web.