Never-Smokers Have Survival Advantage
4/18/2003 Maury Breecher Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention (Vol. 10: 823-829) Lower Second Tumor Occurrence in Head and Neck Cancer Patients who have never smoked Patients with head and neck cancer are known to have a significant risk of developing a second primary cancer (SPT), especially in the head and neck area. The good news, however, is that former smokers and those who have never smoked develop fewer of these second primary tumors than active smokers, according to a report in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention (Vol. 10: 823-829). This is first large-scale randomized study to evaluate the impact of smoking history on the development of SPTs and recurrence in patients with head and neck cancers. Smoking Increases Second Cancer Risk “Controversy has existed about the role of continued smoking in the development of SPTs, but our study provides the first objective evidence proving that continued smoking increases the risks of SPTs,” Edward Kim, MD, an author of the study, tells ACS News Today. Recurring tumors are the return of an original tumor. SPTs are new tumors with a different histology (different cell types) which occur at locations anywhere in the body greater than two centimeters away from the site of the first tumor, says Kim. Active Smokers Have Highest Risk “Significantly different smoking-related SPT development rates were observed in current, former, and never-smokers,” Kim says. “The results showed significantly higher SPT rates in active smokers versus patients who had never smoked and showed former smokers had a survival advantage [...]