The Most Common Cause of Cancer-Related Death in Females
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death in females. This makes option D the correct answer.
Evidence Supporting Lung Cancer as Leading Cause of Female Cancer Deaths
The most recent and highest quality evidence from the 2024 NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines confirms that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States 1. Specifically, in 2024, an estimated 125,070 people (65,790 males and 59,280 females) will die from lung cancer.
This finding is consistently supported across multiple guidelines:
The 2019 American Cancer Society guidelines explicitly state that "lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer in men and women" 1.
The 2013 American Cancer Society lung cancer screening guidelines note that lung cancer has been the leading cause of cancer death for women since the mid-1980s 1.
The 2014 ESMO clinical practice guidelines confirm that lung cancer "has equalled breast cancer as a cause of mortality in women since the 1990s" and has since surpassed it 1.
Comparison with Other Common Female Cancers
While breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women, it is not the leading cause of cancer death:
Breast cancer accounts for approximately 6.9% of female cancer deaths globally, compared to lung cancer's significantly higher mortality rate 2.
The NCCN guidelines for breast cancer (2015,2016) acknowledge that breast cancer is "second only to lung cancer as a cause of cancer death" in women 1.
Although breast cancer was previously the leading cause of cancer death among females in economically developing countries, this shifted in recent decades, with lung cancer taking the lead 3.
Epidemiological Context
The mortality burden of lung cancer in women has been increasing over time:
In the United States, as of 2018,70,073 lung cancer deaths were reported among women 4.
The 5-year relative survival rate for females diagnosed with lung cancer was only 22% 4, highlighting the high mortality associated with this disease.
While lung cancer incidence in women began declining in the mid-2000s (with a 1.5% annual decline between 2011-2015), it remains the deadliest cancer for women 1.
Clinical Implications
The high mortality rate of lung cancer in women underscores the importance of:
Tobacco control efforts, as smoking is responsible for more than 80% of lung cancer cases 1.
Early detection through appropriate screening in high-risk individuals.
Access to advanced treatment modalities, including targeted therapies and immunotherapies that have shown improvements in outcomes.
The correct answer is D. Lung cancer.