1739P - Lung cancer mortality patterns of tobacco users in the United States: A 21-year analysis (1999-2020)

Background

According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally, and tobacco use is the 1ry cause of the disease. The association between tobacco use and lung cancer is well recognized, with smoking cigarettes accounting for approximately 85% of all lung cancer cases. Despite significant public health efforts to reduce tobacco use, it remains a prevalent issue, with an estimated 14% of the U.S. adult population being current smokers. Therefore, there is a continued need to investigate the relationship between tobacco use and lung cancer to better establish public health interventions and policies that can reduce the burden of this deadly disease.

Methods

Using the CDC multiple causes of death database (ICD-10 revision codes), we identified all patients with history of tobacco use who died of lung cancer (C34.x registered as the underlying cause of death) in Caucasian, African American, Asian, American Indian races, between 1999 and 2020 in the United States. Age-adjusted mortality rates were calculated per 1,000,000 persons (PMP), standardized to the U.S. census data from 1999, and stratified by gender.

Results

Between 1999 and 2020, 1,084,140 deaths were due to lung cancer in persons with history of tobacco use (age-adjusted mortality= 144.6 PMP). We identified a total of 970,370 Caucasian, 96,001 African American, 11,279 Asian, and 6,490 American Indian deaths in each population (total age-adjusted mortality was 151.5 PMP, 129.5 PMP, 38.3 PMP, and 117.7, respectively). Over 21 years, age-adjusted mortality increased by 782% in Caucasians (19.5 PMP in 1999 to 152.4 PMP in 2020), 575% in African Americans (21.2 PMP in 1999 to 121.9 PMP in 2020), 724% in Asians (5 PMP in 1999 to 36.2 PMP in 2020), and 351% in American Indians (27.2 PMP in 1999 to 95.5 PMP in 2020).

Conclusions

The study's results show a significant and consistent rise in the mortality rates of tobacco-related lung cancer among all ethnicities, ranging from 351% in American Indians to 782% in Caucasians. These findings emphasize the urgent need for effective public health interventions and policies that can address the destructive impact of tobacco use on lung cancer mortality across all racial groups in the U.S.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

The authors.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.