In 2020, the number of newly diagnosed cancer patients in China reached 4.57 million, accounting for 23.7% of the world!
From this data, it is not difficult to see that China is not only the world's most populous country, but also the country with the largest number of cancer patients in the world. Among the cancer patients diagnosed this year, the most high-incidence cancer type was lung cancer, and the number of confirmed cases reached 820,000. Of these, 540,000 are male and 280,000 are female.
It can be seen that lung cancer shows a trend of preference for sons over daughters, and men are the highest incidence of lung cancer, and it is also the malignant tumor with the highest mortality rate in male cancer.
So the question is, what is the cause of lung cancer, why is it easy to find men?
First of all, we must understand what lung cancer really is. The so-called lung cancer refers to the malignant tumors that appear in the lungs, which are divided into two categories: primary and metastatic. Usually, the clinical so-called lung cancer refers to the primary malignant tumor of the lungs. From a scientific point of view, lung cancer does not have a specific age and gender distinction, and anyone at any age can develop lung cancer.
The reason why lung cancer in the mainland has a situation of son preference is related to the following reasons:
1. Smoking
More than 60% of men over the age of 15 on the mainland have a history of smoking. Although the proportion of women smoking has increased in recent years, it cannot be denied that men are the largest group of tobacco consumers.
There are a large number of data to confirm that long-term smoking is the main risk factor for lung cancer, and the probability of lung cancer in large quantities of smokers is 10-20 times that of non-smokers. The younger the age at which men start smoking, the higher the chance of future lung cancer;
2. Career
Among all types of cancer, many have been labeled as occupational cancers, that is, the cause of the disease is related to the occupation, and lung cancer is the most typical of occupational cancers.
Nearly 10% of lung cancer patients in mainland China have a long history of occupational and environmental exposure, and it has now been confirmed that there are 9 occupational environments that can increase the incidence of lung cancer, such as long-term exposure to asbestos, by-products of aluminum products, arsenic, vinyl chloride, ionizing radiation and so on.
In addition, long-term exposure to beryllium, cadmium, silicon, and formalin can also increase the incidence of lung cancer. There are even surveys that point out that the air pollution in the working environment is particularly serious, and there is a strong industrial exhaust gas, which will increase the chance of lung cancer;
3. There have been lung diseases
If you already have chronic lung diseases, such as tuberculosis, silicosis and pneumoconiosis, it will increase your chances of cancer. The reason for this is related to factors such as the decline of the body's immune function and the repeated damage of lung tissue.
In addition, if the patient has chronic inflammation of the lung bronchi and pulmonary fiber scar lesions, it may cause squamous epithelial metaplasia or hyperplasia during the healing process, and on this basis, some patients may develop cancerous changes.
All in all, due to the large number of men smoking on the mainland, the proportion of men in many jobs is greater than that of women, such as asbestos workers, miners, oil workers, etc., the proportion of men is higher than that of women.
Because of this, men are also more likely to develop lung cancer than women. However, this does not mean that women are completely safe, if women have long-term smoking, occupational exposure history, or long-term exposure to kitchen fumes, etc., this will also increase the possibility of cancer.