Lung cancer in women and pregnancy:: towards a hormonal origin?

Introduction The incidence of lung cancer is increasing dramatically in women in France. It is now the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in the USA and the second in France. State of the art Lung cancer occurring in women displays some specific epidemiological, radiological, clinical and pathological characteristics. Moreover, both prognosis and response to treatment appear to be different from men. In line with these findings, lung carcinogenesis is, at least in part, distinct in women and involves different mechanisms and signalling pathways. We emphasize in this review genetic and hormonal specificities based upon epidemiological and biological studies. Moreover, we focus on lung cancer developing during pregnancy by reporting an individual case and discussing the published literature. Perspectives and conclusions Recent works suggest that lung cancer in women is a distinct entity with specific carcinogenesis. We propose that a better knowledge of this entity will permit the identification of specific genetic alterations or hormonal profiles that may serve as now therapeutic targets.