Women who smoke seem to be more susceptible to lung cancer than male smokers, although women have minor mortality rates derived from this type of tumors, according to a study from the University of Cornell in New York ( United States ) that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Although it has been considered that women are more susceptible than men to carcinogenic agents after being diagnosed with lung cancer, they have better survival rates than males. The investigators examined the risks of women with lung cancer in comparison with men, both groups with smoking habits. Also, they compared the mortality rate between both sexes. The study included 7,498 women and 9,427 men with at least forty years of age, with previous smoking record and examined in relation to cancer between the years 1993 and 2005.

A total of 156 women and 113 men -rates of 2.1 and 1.2 respectively- were diagnosed with cancer. The investigators also discovered that women had smaller rates of mortality associated to cancer when considering the smoking record, the phase of the disease and its type, as well as the operation which they were submitted to.

The authors of the work also indicated that if the risk of cancer of lung in women smokers is greater than in men than preventive actions directed against smoking must go in greater measure to them.