MACON, Ga., April 10 (UPI) -- Though a type of cancer, adenocarcinoma, has exploded worldwide, it has declined in the United States, a study finds.
From 1973 to 1998, U.S. incidence rates of adenocarcinoma of the lung increased 83 percent in men and more than 200 percent in women, according to the study published in Chest.
However, from 1999 to 2003, the rates declined by 14 percent in men and 8 percent in women.
Adenocarcinoma is the most common subtype of non-small cell lung cancer, accounting for 50 to 60 percent of non-small cell lung cancer. It starts near the gas-exchanging surface of the lung, and most cases of adenocarcinoma are associated with smoking.
Researchers at Mercer University in Macon, Ga. and the University of Alabama at Birmingham suggest the decline could be attributed to decrease in air pollution, the increased use of low-tar cigarettes or a decline in environmental tobacco smoke exposure.
