Lung cancer is the deadliest form of cancer for humans, and increasingly, non-smokers are being diagnosed. Scientists suggest that air pollution may be a contributing factor to this disease. Research published in "The Lancet Respiratory Medicine" indicates that air pollution is a significant factor in the rise of lung cancer cases among

A new study found an increase in adenocarcinoma, a lung cancer that is most commonly associated with nonsmokers.

Scientists believe that air pollution could be a major cause behind the rise in global lung cancer cases in people that have never smoked.

Air pollution is fueling a rise in the commonest form of lung cancer among non-smokers, hitting women and people in southeast Asia particularly hard, according to a study published on Tuesday.

A new study found that the proportion of people being diagnosed with lung cancer who have never smoked is increasing, and air pollution may be a leading cause.

Researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer said for never-smokers, lung cancer was the fifth largest leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Those cases were nearly exclusively the subtype adenocarcinoma - a tumour that forms in the glandular tissue - and largely in women and Asian populations.

Doctors highlight air pollution and second-hand smoke as major risk factors, with the city’s worsening air quality contributing to the surge in cases.

"Exposure to air pollutants makes us more vulnerable to respiratory inflammation and infections such as Pneumonia and Bronchitis," said doctor Gregorio Ocampo from Makati Medical Center's Section of Pulmonary Medicine. "They also increase the risk of developing lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and cancer."

A recent study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine revealed an increase in lung cancer cases among non-smokers, linking this rise to air pollution exposure. The study, released on World Cancer Day,

Second-hand smoke in urban areas and fire-wood smoke in rural areas blamed for lung diseases among non-smokers

Lung cancer in never-smokers is also occurring almost exclusively as adenocarcinoma, which has become the most dominant of the four main subtypes of the disease in men and women globally, the agency said.