Lung cancer has become the main cause of cancer death among British women,
according to the Cancer Research Campaign.
It is the first time that lung cancer mortality has overtaken breast cancer
mortality. CRC figures show that last year, 12,765 women died of lung cancer
compared with 12,677 who died of breast cancer. The charity says that there
has been a 36 per cent increase in lung cancer mortality over the past 20 years
compared with a 5 per cent decrease in breast cancer mortality. The CRC suggests
that early detection and better treatments could explain the fall in breast
cancer. It blames smoking for the rise in lung cancer.