The number of cases of lung cancer among women in the UK continues to rise steadily despite dramatic falls in smoking prevalence during the last half of the 20th century according to new data from Cancer Research UK.

In 2009, Cancer Research UK reports that 23,041 new lung cancer cases were diagnosed in men and 18,387 cases in women. This makes lung cancer the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and women, behind prostate and breast cancer respectively.

Several recent studies have looked at trends in the mortality differences between smokers and non-smokers. The studies have all produced remarkably similar conclusions – the excess mortality associated with cigarette smoking continues to increase resulting in a growing life expectancy difference between non-smokers and smokers. This is damning for the cigarette industry who have long claimed that increased usage of filtered cigarettes and low tar or “mild” formulations has resulted in a safer product. This simply doesn’t appear to be the case, and if anything, cigarette smokers are at a higher risk of dying from lung cancer, heart disease, and other smoking related illnesses than ever before.

While we all know that a significant proportion of cancers are preventable, a recent British study has attempted to quantify the precise percentage of cancers that could be prevented through lifestyle and environmental changes. The authors found that a massive 45% of male cancers and 40% of female cancers could be prevented through simple behavioural changes.

The research, which was led by Professor Max Parkin of the Centre for Cancer Prevention at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, involved the identification of 14 factors that are known to be related to cancer risk.

The latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released by the CDC contained some interesting data on the prevalence of smoking across different occupational groups.

The prevalence estimates were based on data from the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 2004-2010 which involved a combined 113,226 participants. Researchers found huge differences in smoking rates across various occupational groups with rates as high as 31.4% and as low as 8.7%.

Over the years, many scientific studies have looked at whether marijuana smokers are at an increased risk of developing cancer. Interestingly, despite the fact marijuana smoke shares many of the same carcinogens as cigarette smoke, no study has found a significantly increased risk of cancer as a result of smoking marijuana.

Many smokers want to know their probability of dying from lung cancer in a given time frame, however calculating precise risks can be difficult because there are a variety of factors that influence lung cancer probabilities.

The most important factors influencing lung cancer risk are age, number of years of smoking, average number of cigarettes smoked per day, number of years since smoking ceased (if the individual is a former smoker), and a history of asbestos exposure (working in a high risk occupation for at least 5 years).

Colorectal cancer is an extremely common and often fatal form of cancer. In the United States, it is the fourth most common type of cancer and is second only to lung cancer in terms of mortality with almost 52,000 deaths in the USA alone last year. The lifetime risk of developing colorectal cancer for a 30 year old living in the United States today is 5.24%. Although great advances have been made in recent years in the early detection and treatment of colorectal cancer, the 5-year survival rate from diagnosis is only 65%, much lower than the survival rates for some other common types of cancer such as breast, skin, and prostate cancer.

A low intake of fruit and vegetables, and a high fat diet may be risk factors for bladder cancer according to the findings of a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology in April 2000.

The study involved the analysis of 38 previous research studies on the impact of diet on bladder cancer. The researchers looked at six dietary variables: high meat intake, high fat intake, low vegetable consumption, low fruit consumption, low intake of retinol (vitamin A), and low intake of beta-carotene.

A form of Vitamin E known as alpha-tocopherol may reduce both the risk of developing and dying from prostate cancer in smokers according to a study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The study, which was published back in 1998 by researchers at the Department of Public Health in Helsinki, Finland, looked at the effect of daily supplementation of 20mg of beta-carotene and/or 50mg of alpha-tocopherol on the risk of prostate cancer. Beta-carotene is an antioxidant that is converted by the body into Vitamin A.

A recent analysis of 156 research studies has found that moderate alcohol consumption can increase the risk of developing several forms of cancer including cancers of the mouth, larynx, esophagus, breast, colon, and liver.

The study, published in the journal Preventive Medicine in 2004, involved the analysis of data from 156 studies involving a total of 116,702 individuals in order to determine the effects of alcohol consumption on cancer rates.

Many smokers want to know exactly how much higher their risk of dying from various forms of cancer is compared to non-smokers. Unfortunately the answer is a lot higher, more than 10 times higher for cancers such as lung, larynx, and mouth cancers.

Interestingly some forms of cancer that one wouldn’t normally associate with smoking such as pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer, and acute myeloid leukemia are also more likely in smokers.

A scientific study has shown that three popular vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, and folic acid (vitamin B9) do not reduce lung cancer risk. Furthermore, researchers found a small but significant increase in lung cancer risk amongst smokers taking vitamin E supplements.

The research, which is reported in the March 2008 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, followed 77,126 American men and women from the state of Washington aged between 50 and 76.