Half of India's Lung Cancer Cases Are Non-Smokers

The expert says that while a lung cancer diagnosis can be scary right now, today’s treatment follows a clear medical plan. Early diagnosis, more advanced testing and personalized treatment are making so many patients better off.

Why are non-smokers getting lung cancer?

The prevalence of lung cancer in India continues to be the biggest cause of smoking with millions of people still using tobacco. But Dr. Singhal says many non-smokers are also suffering from the disease.

Some of the major reasons are:

Air pollution
Second-hand smoke
Exposure to radon gas
Harmful chemicals at workplaces
Genetic factors

According to the doctor, lung cancer is getting more common among women and younger adults. The average age of diagnosis in India is now in the mid-50s, which is almost 10 years younger than in many Western countries.

Lung Cancer often gets detected late

One of the biggest challenges is that lung cancer often shows very few symptoms in its early stages.

Dr. Singhal says many patients in India are diagnosed only after the disease has spread beyond the lungs, making treatment more difficult.

He suggests people not to ignore symptoms such as:

A cough that does not go away
Chest pain
Unexplained weight loss
Coughing up blood
Difficulty breathing

In high-risk patients, doctors recommend low-dose CT scans that can detect lung cancer at an early stage when treatment is more effective.

What happens after a lung cancer diagnosis?

Dr. Singhal explains that doctors follow a step-by-step process after finding lung cancer.

First, they identify:

The type of lung cancer
The stage of the disease
The patient's overall health

The details are just what doctors need to know in order to help them decide the treatment plan for each patient.

Personalised treatment is improving survival.

The treatment of modern lung cancer is no longer the same for every patient.

Doctors now perform biomarker tests to check for genetic changes such as EGFR, ALK and ROS1 mutations. These are more common in non-smokers and younger patients.

If these mutations are found, patients may receive targeted therapy that can be more effective than traditional chemotherapy.

Depending on the case, treatment may include:

Surgery
Chemotherapy
Radiation therapy
Targeted therapy
Immunotherapy
Supportive care

This personalised approach is known as precision medicine.

Recovery is so much more than medicines.

Dr. Singhal says that treatment does not end with medicines alone.

Patients also need:

Healthy nutrition
Regular physical activity
Emotional support and counselling
Regular follow-up with doctors

It includes new technologies such as liquid biopsies, advanced molecular testing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) that medical doctors are also going to use to monitor cancer much more accurately.

Why Awareness Matters

According to the National Cancer Registry Programme, India is expected to report around 111,000 new lung cancer cases in 2025.

Lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with 2.5 million new cases and 1.8 million deaths in 2022.

Doctors say anyone who feels that they are having problems should consult medical care, even if they never smoked.

Lung cancer is no longer a disease seen only in smokers. With nearly half of India's cases occurring in non-smokers, experts say awareness, early diagnosis and timely treatment are more important than ever.

The precision medicine and targeted therapies are giving patients a better choice of treatment, but early recognition of symptoms and going to the doctor without delay could be the greatest benefit.