SMOKING IS ASSOCIATED WITH RECTAL CANCER
Cigarette smoking may
be a risk factor for rectal-- but not colon--cancer
The evidence linking
cigarette smoking and colorectal cancer risk has been inconsistent.
Electra Paskett,
Ph.D., of Ohio State University in Columbus and colleagues investigated the
association between smoking history and colorectal cancer among nearly 147,000
participants in the Women's Health Initiative.
After an average
follow-up of about 8 years, 1,242 women were diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
Increased colorectal cancer incidence was associated with more cigarettes
smoked per day, more years as a smoker, and older age when the women quit
smoking.
Current smokers were
at an increased risk for rectal cancer, but not colon cancer, compared with
never smokers. Secondhand exposure to cigarette smoke was not associated with
either cancer.
"Our data add
to the extensive evidence indicating that preventing smoking initiation and
decreasing the duration of smoking might reduce colorectal cancer risk,"
the authors write.
This research was
published recently in the Journal of The National Cancer Institute.
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