Cases of lung cancer among women over 60 have more than doubled since the mid-1970s, statistics show.
According to Cancer Research UK figures, the rate rose from 88 per 100,000 in 1975 to 190 per 100,000 in 2008, the latest year for which statistics are available.
Lung cancers in men fell, and CRUK say this is linked to smoking rates.
The proportion of male smokers peaked before 1960. But women had rising rates in the 1960s and 1970s, which would have an effect on those now over 60.
Overall, the number of women diagnosed with lung cancer has risen from around 7,800 cases in 1975 to more than 17,500 in 2008.
Figures for men went from 23,400 over-60s diagnosed in 1975, falling to 19,400 in 2008, with rates showing a similar large drop.
The charity said 5,700 women over 60 were diagnosed with lung cancer in 1975, compared with 15,100 in 2008.
In the late 1980s, lung cancers in women in their 60s plateaued, and even started to fall.
But they began to rise again in 2002.
However cancer rates among women in their 40s did fall between 1975 and 2008.
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