Lung cancer can hit Asian women who don’t smoke

Local doctors have long known that those with a history of smoking - typically men - run a high risk of getting lung cancer. But they have increasingly noticed an unsettling trend here - a sizeable proportion of their patients are Asian, female and have never touched a cigarette.

"They had never smoked; there was no exposure to cigarette smoke in their homes," said Dr Akhil Chopra, a senior consultant in Tan Tock Seng Hospital's (TTSH) medical oncology department, who had formerly worked in the United States.

"That was in contrast with what you normally see in the West."