Lung cancer is increasingly affecting women and people who have never smoked in Belgium, with new cases expected to rise by nearly 20% by 2035, the Cancer Foundation 'Fondation contre le Cancer' said on Tuesday ahead of World Lung Cancer Day on 1 August.
According to projections by the Belgian Cancer Registry, the annual number of new lung cancer diagnoses is set to increase from 9,487 cases in 2023 to 11,429 in 2035.
Among men, incidence is tending to stabilise. Among women, however, it continues to rise sharply, from 1,554 new cases in 2004 to 3,773 in 2023, with 5,716 cases expected by 2035.
Smoking remains by far the main risk factor and is responsible for 80% to 90% of lung cancers, the foundation said, stressing the continued importance of anti-smoking measures.
At the same time, the disease is affecting more and more people who have never smoked. Other known risk factors include exposure to carcinogenic substances in the workplace or the environment, air pollution and radon.
Lung cancer now accounts for around one in five cancer deaths in Belgium, making it one of the deadliest cancers in the country, according to the cancer foundation.
Figures from the Belgian Cancer Registry for 2023 also show that more than 65% of lung cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage.
The foundation said this underlined the need to act on all fronts, including prevention, early detection and therapeutic innovation.
Nonetheless, thanks to developments in cancer treatment, the five-year survival rate improved between 2004-2008 and 2019-2023, rising from 15% to 35% among women and from 12% to 27% among men.
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