SCREENING A DEADLY DISEASE

When celebrated actor, Natthawut "Poh" Skidjai, revealed on his YouTube channel @PohSakidAey that his wife Aey Pornthip had been diagnosed with stage one lung cancer after an annual health checkup, the video worried many viewers because Aey does not smoke.

- STORY: SUWITCHA CHAIYONG

According to the Ministry of Public Health, in 2024, lung cancer was the second most common cancer after liver and bile duct cancer with 17,222 new patients reported that year, and an average of 40 deaths per day.

Smoking is the leading risk factor for lung cancer, but there are other factors that increase the risk as well. Assoc Prof Dr Thanyanan Baisamut, a lung cancer expert and medical oncologist, at Horizon Cancer Center, Bumrungrad International Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine Ramathibodi Hospital, Mahidol University, explained that there are two types of lung cancer: small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer.

"Smoking is the main cause of small cell lung cancer. Meanwhile, the majority of non-small cell lung cancers are called adenocarcinoma — the most common type found in non-smokers. Due to effective anti-smoking campaigns run by Dr Prakit Vathesatogkit for decades, the number of smokers in Thailand has decreased from more than 30% in the past 30 years to 17% today. Therefore, the number of small cell lung cancer cases has decreased," explained Assoc Prof Dr Thanyanan.

"Many studies in East Asia and Southeast Asia have found a prevalence of EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) gene mutations in adenocarcinoma lung cancer in the Asian population (around 50%) compared to Caucasians (20%). Additionally, in the past two years, initial studies suggest that PM2.5 may be an initiator for the development of adenocarcinoma lung cancer with mutated genes. However, PM2.5 may be only one of the factors that leads to lung cancer. Other factors can be cooking methods and the use of incense in areas without proper ventilation."