The Journal of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery
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J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. · Jun 2021
Non-small cell lung cancer in never- and ever-smokers: Is it the same disease?
To investigate differences in presentation, pathology, and outcomes after resection of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in never-smokers versus ever-smokers. ⋯ NSCLC in never-smokers affects women more than men and presents with different anatomic and histopathological distributions. Matched never-smokers have better or equivalent outcomes than ever-smokers in pathological stage I cancer, but are less likely to survive and to be cured of cancer as tumor burden increases. These findings suggest that there might be unique tumor or host behaviors differentially impacting survival of never- and ever-smoking patients with NSCLC.