This Rare Gene Drastically Raises Lung Cancer Risk in People Who Never Smoked NYT: Science By: Gina Kolata 17 September 2026 at 22:05 The gene is found predominantly in Southern Appalachia and may be one of the most powerful cancer-risk mutations ever found. Β© Annie Flanagan for The New York TimesCaroline Blanchard, a nurse practitioner in New Orleans, has the lung cancer gene, known as EGFR T790M. One in 15,000 people in the United States have it.