Clinic-pathologic features and gene fusion pattern of ALK and ROS1 in non-small cell lung cancer show association with household coal combustion

Lung cancer has been the most common cancer for decades (1). Globally about 53% of lung cancer cases in females and 15% of lung cancer cases in males are not attributed to smoking (2). Nearly 3 billion people on earth use coal or biomass for cooking and heating (3,4), this practice poses long-term risks for the development of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases including lung cancer (3-6). Evidences suggest that lung cancer caused by non-tobacco factors can harbor unique clinical features when compared with lung cancers attributed to smoking (2,7,8)