STAT+: Why do ‘never-smokers’ get lung cancer? In some cases, rare genetic variant may be a factor

For years, researchers have known that, among people diagnosed with lung cancer, the prevalence of nonsmokers has been increasing. But they have been trying to determine what factors — whether genetic, environmental, or something else — might put these “never-smokers” at heightened risk.  Now, researchers have identified a very rare genetic variant that is associated with 25-fold higher odds of lung cancer, they reported in the journal Science on Thursday. In the U.S., the variant is far more co...