The death rate of women with lung cancer has increased in two particular geographic regions in the U.S. since 1990, according to a study published March 30 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal published by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
Investigators from Emory University and the American Cancer Society examined the U.S. National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database, including information on the mortality of people with lung cancer throughout the U.S. from 1990-1999 and 2006-2015.
They used a statistical tool to highlight clusters of counties, or "hotspots," that demonstrated shifts in the lung cancer death rate of women. They identified two: an area encompassing 669 counties in 21 states in central Appalachia and southern parts of the Midwest, and a group of 81 counties in four states in the upper Midwest.
Contrary to the overall trend of decreasing lung cancer mortality rates in the U.S., the death rate for women increased by 13% in the first hotspot and by 7% in the second. The death rate for women in the two hotspots was 4% lower than that of other U.S. counties in 1990 but turned out to be 28% higher by 2015.
There continues to be a high prevalence of smoking among women in these regions compared with other counties in the U.S., first author Katherine Ross said in a press release by the AACR. Targeted tobacco control policies could help reduce the lung cancer mortality rate.
![Axial images from unenhanced calcium score cardiac CT (left) and curved planar reformation images from CT angiography (right) show that higher long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with greater coronary artery calcium and more obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Top row: Images in a 68-year-old male patient with higher 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (7.9 μg/m3 for particulate matter measuring ≤2.5 μm in diameter [PM2.5] and 17.4 parts per billion [ppb] for NO2) with extensive CAD (coronary artery calcium score [CACS] >1,000 and obstructive CAD [≥70% diameter stenosis]). Bottom row: Images in a 57-year-old female patient with lower 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (6.3 μg/m3 for PM2.5 and 4.6 ppb for NO2) with no CAD (CACS = 0 and no obstructive stenosis).](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/06/hanneman.r6SMLzkezo.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
