Carcinoma of the lung in nonsmoking Chinese women.

The records of 452 lung cancer patients seen in San Francisco between 1972 and 1979 were retrospectively analyzed according to race, sex, findings at histology and smoking history. Of 31 Chinese women with adenocarcinoma or large cell undifferentiated carcinoma, 20 (64.5 percent) had never smoked, which is in sharp contrast to all other subsets. At least 12 of the women were of Cantonese origin. These data support the findings of previous studies carried out in Cantonese women residing in Hong Kong, Singapore and Hawaii. As the incidence of adenocarcinoma in nonsmokers is appreciably higher than that noted in Canton, the possibility must be considered that the cause may be the result of an interaction between some traditional and nontraditional exposures.