6.3 Risk factors

Increases risk

Decreases risk

Convincing or probable

Tobacco smoking and involuntary (passive) smoking¹

Fruit¹⁸

Radon²

Ionizing radiation²

Arsenic and arsenic compounds; asbestos; beryllium and beryllium compounds; cadmium and cadmium compounds; chromium compounds; nickel compounds; silica dust; and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)^3-7

Employment as a painter⁸

Beta-carotene supplements^9,10

History of tuberculosis¹¹

Indoor emissions from household combustion of coal^1,12

Low socio-economic status¹³

Family history of lung cancer^14,15

Possible

Alcohol¹⁶

Physical activity^18,25

Coffee¹⁷

Non-starchy or cruciferous vegetables^18,26

Low body fatness/leanness¹⁸

Flavonoids from foods²⁷

Infection with chlamydia pneumoniae or Helicobacter pylori^19,20

Green tea²⁸

Occupational exposure to diesel motor exhaust or organic dust^21,22

Employment in cotton textile and agriculture industries²⁹

Hormone replacement therapy^23,24

Aspirin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs³⁰

¹ Secretan et al., 2009; ² El Ghissassi et al., 2009; ³ Celik et al., 2008; ⁴ Baan et al., 2009; ⁵ Lacasse et al., 2009; ⁶ Straif et al., 2009;

⁷ main route of exposure is occupational; ⁸ Guha et al., 2010; ⁹ in current smokers; ¹⁰ Tanvetyanon and Bepler, 2008; ¹¹ Liang et al., 2009; ¹² Hosgood et al., 2010; ¹³ Sidorchuk et al., 2009; ¹⁴ one or more relative(s) with lung cancer; ¹⁵ Lissowska et al., 2010;

¹⁶ Uehara and Kiyohara, 2010; ¹⁷ Tang et al., 2010; ¹⁸ World Cancer Research Fund / American Institute for Cancer Research, 2007;

¹⁹ Zhan et al., 2011; ²⁰ Zhuo et al., 2009; ²¹ Olsson et al., 2011; ²² Peters et al., 2011; ²³ in non-smoking women; ²⁴ Greiser et al., 2010; ²⁵ International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2002; ²⁶ Lam et al., 2009; ²⁷ Tang et al., 2009a; ²⁸ Tang et al., 2009b;

²⁹ Lenters et al., 2010; ³⁰ Bosetti et al., 2006