# Lung cancer is rising in people who never smoked

> Pope Leo XIV's diagnosis highlights a shift in who gets the disease, but screening guidelines have not caught up.
- Title: Lung cancer is rising in people who never smoked · Fortune
- Summary: Pope Leo XIV's diagnosis highlights a shift in who gets the disease, but screening guidelines have not caught up. Lung cancer rates are rising among women…
- Keywords: lung cancer, cancer screening, never-smokers, women's health, pope leo xiv, adenocarcinoma, genetic risk, thoracic oncology, Lung, cancer, rising, people
- Source: Fortune — https://fortune.com/2026/10/15/lung-cancer-screening-never-smokers-pope-leo
- Author: Estelamari Rodriguez
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: lung cancer, cancer screening, never-smokers, women's health, pope leo xiv, adenocarcinoma, genetic risk, thoracic oncology
## The face of lung cancer is changing
Over the past fifteen years, more women, never smokers and younger people are being diagnosed with lung cancer. The disease is now the leading cause of cancer death among women.
## Women's lung cancer rates are surging
Lung cancer rates have risen by seventy-nine percent for women over the last forty-four years, while they decreased by forty-three percent for men.
## Pope's diagnosis raises questions
Pope Leo the fourteenth was diagnosed with lung cancer on October thirteenth, twenty twenty-six. Leo reportedly is not a smoker, sparking discussion about rising rates among never-smokers.
## Early detection can mean cure
Cancer found at the earliest stages can be treated with surgery and cured for both smokers and nonsmokers. The challenge is that never-smokers are not included in current screening guidelines.
## Why women's rates are rising
Women started smoking later than men, delaying their peak in smoking-related lung cancer. Women also smoked when filtered cigarettes were common, increasing adenocarcinoma risk as filters direct smoke to outer lung parts.
## Most lung cancer patients never smoked
About twenty percent of women with lung cancer have never smoked, higher than the rate for men. Most people diagnosed today with lung cancer are not active smokers.
## Multiple risk factors beyond smoking
Lung cancer risk factors include family history, asbestos, radon, air pollution and workplace exposure to arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, silica and nickel. Genetics can also play a role in some patients.
## Screening guidelines lag behind reality
Current guidelines recommend screening for adults ages fifty to eighty who smoked at least one pack per day for twenty years or quit within the last fifteen years.
## New guidelines could expand access
The twenty twenty-one update to screening guidelines will increase eligible women by forty percent by including younger patients with less smoking exposure. Researchers estimate this expansion could improve early detection rates.
## Steps to address the epidemic
Recognizing early symptoms, expanding screening eligibility and testing for genetic biomarkers could help address the global epidemic of lung cancer in women. Early detection and targeted therapies improve prognosis.
## Key takeaway

Lung cancer rates are rising among women and never-smokers, but screening guidelines still exclude non-smokers, delaying diagnosis and treatment.