FOX CHASE (WPVI) — Lung cancer is always a startling diagnosis, but is is even more so when it happens to a non-smoker. But now there are new discoveries on why it happens and how to treat it best.
Christopher Reeve’s wife Dana had lung cancer, so did Grammy-winning singer Donna Summer. Yet, neither smoked.
Medical oncologist Nicholas Bodor of Fox Chase Cancer Center says lung cancer among never-smokers is surprisingly common.
“Anywhere between 10% and 20% of our cases occur in people who have little or no smoking history,” Dr. Bodor says.
In East Asian countries, a third or more are non-smokers. He says Asian Americans are more vulnerable, as are families with lung cancer histories. Women outnumber men by 2 to 1 and the numbers are growing around the world.
The symptoms are the same as in smokers: a persistent cough, wheezing, shortness of breath. But the tumors are biologically different.
For never-smokers: “It’s not the smoking that caused the lung tumor. It’s actually a defect in the lung – a mutation – something they call an oncogene,” Dr. Bodor says.
Different genetics mean different treatments.
Immunotherapy works well in smoking-induced tumors, but not genetically-driven ones. Those respond better to targeted drugs, many of them pills taken at home.
“And many of them are highly effective and generally with minimal to moderate side effects,” he says.
Because of that, Dr. Bodor says new patients need thorough DNA testing of their tumors to find out what works.
Meanwhile, scientists are still seeking all the triggers for these cancers.
Secondhand smoke accounts for some and so does high exposure to fine-particle air pollution from traffic and manufacturing.
Fox Chase is also studying a surprising factor in women: estrogen.
“Certain individuals who process or metabolize estrogen in such a way that it turns into a toxic or carcinogenic derivative,” Dr. Bodor says.
With these findings, Fox Chase is now working on new compounds specifically for never-smokers.
Copyright © 2025 WPVI-TV. All Rights Reserved.