The Impact of Smoking Risk Determinants on Lung Cancer Disease

Joie Lea Murorunkwere* & Jean Paul Nizeyimana
University of Tourism, Technology and Business Studies, Rwanda
Corresponding Author*: isimbilea@gmail.com

Abstract: Lung cancer (LC), the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, is a complex and highly heterogeneous disease. Additional to its biological complexity, LC patients are often confronted with a high degree of stigma, mostly from the association of the disease with tobacco. Nonetheless, a proportion of LC patients are non-smokers. This paper aims to investigate the prevalence of smoking and the factors associated with it to the risk determinants of Lung Cancer, in Butaro Cancer Center. In Rwanda, this is most acutely seen in cancer, with more than a thousand registered cases of cancer between 2012 and 2020. To respond to this growing need, the first comprehensive cancer center in Rwanda has been developed, adjacent to the Butaro District Hospital. Data have been collected through questionnaires, interviews and document review. The population of 110 was stratified by social demographic types within the hospital. Multistage cluster sampling was used to draw 52 respondents. Collected data have been analysed using SPSS. Participants with smoking status had higher rates of lung cancer risks at 35%. In addition, those with less education and a family history of lung cancer and who were current smokers had higher lung cancer risk scores at 45%. Predictors of perception of synergistic risk were marital status and health-related self-concept at 20%. Based on the findings, we recommend that Lung cancer risk reduction interventions with vulnerable populations are needed. This review comprehensively assesses the current knowledge in terms of risk factors and disease characteristics in the non-smoker lung cancer population.