A risk factor is anything that affects your chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. For example, strong sunlight is a risk factor for skin cancer, and smoking is a risk factor for cancers of the lung, larynx (voice box), mouth, throat, esophagus, kidneys, bladder, and several other organs.
But risk factors don't tell us everything. Having a known risk factor, or even several risk factors, does not mean that you will get the disease. And many people who get the disease may not have had any known risk factors.
Not much is known about why lung carcinoid tumors develop in some people but not in others.
Tobacco smoke
Typical lung carcinoid tumors do not seem to be linked with smoking or with any known chemicals in the environment or workplace. But some studies have found that atypical lung carcinoids may be more common in people who smoke.
Gender
Carcinoids occur more often in women than in men. The reasons for this are not known.
Race/ethnicity
Lung carcinoids are more common in whites than in African Americans, Asian Americans, or Hispanics/Latinos.
Age
These tumors are usually found in people about 60 years old, which is slightly younger than the average age for other types of lung cancer. But carcinoids can occur in people of almost any age. Although it is rare, lung carcinoid tumors are sometimes even found in children.
Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1
People with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1, an inherited syndrome) are at high risk for tumors in the pancreas and in the pituitary and parathyroid glands. They also seem to be at increased risk for lung carcinoid tumors.
Family history
Most people with lung carcinoid tumors do not have a family history of this type of cancer, but a tendency to develop lung carcinoid tumors can be inherited. In rare cases, several family members have been diagnosed with this cancer. But because this cancer is so uncommon, the risk is still low.
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