Even those who have never smoked may develop lung cancer. Although cigarettes remain the main risk factor, responsible for approximately 80% of cases, cancer can also be linked to other causesnot all of which are so well known, as explained by the Dr. Federica Polipulmonologist at the Heart – Adult Surgical Area of the IRCCS Policlinico San Donato in Milan: “Lung cancer can also affect non-smokers because the tumor pathology is a degenerative pathology that can have various causes. Obviously, in lung tumors, smoking represents the first cause: more or less the ratio is 80-20. In essence a percentage of lung cancers in non-smokers is between 10% and 20%. There are also forms of neuroendocrine lung tumorswhich are particular tumors and can also affect younger segments of the population.”
