More News on Female Smoking and Breast Cancer

According to a publication at the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, female smoking can contribute to breast cancer risks even to a lager degree than is currently accepted within the medical community. Active smoking, say researchers, can promote dangerous cellular mutations.  Tobacco smoke contains a wide range of hazardous carcinogenic substances that end up in the tissues of smokers and can trigger the development of various diseases and malignancies. Metabolites of tobacco smoke can easily reach the fluid found inside the breast tissue, stimulating the formation of cysts and tumours.

However, previous research focusing on links between smoking and breast cancer were inconsistent, and scientists were unable to find a direct connection between tobacco consumption and an increased incidence of breast cancer. But the new study that took into consideration such important factors as the length of active smoking, genetics, diet, and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke, has shown that cigarettes can significantly contribute to a risk of contracting breast cancer among female populations.

Dr. Peggy Reynolds, the lead author of the study, and her co-workers from the California Department of Health Services investigated the rates of breast cancer among more than 100,000 women who participated in a large-scale California Teachers Study. The female participants were asked about their lifestyle, diet, and a smoking status.

During the study period of four years, over 2,000 women developed an invasive type of malignant breast tumour. At that, current smokers, particularly those who had started consuming tobacco before the age of 20 and those who smoked more than a pack of cigarettes a day, had a 30 percent higher incidence of the disease than non-smoking women.

After taking into account women’s exposure to passive smoking and their family history of invasive breast cancer, the researchers nonetheless have found an unquestionable link between active smoking and a substantial increase in a risk of contracting breast cancer. On the other hand, smoking cessation has been positively correlated with a reduced incidence of breast cancer. No association has been found between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and breast malignancies.

Breast cancer is currently estimated to be the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among American women, with the rates of the disease showing a tendency towards a steady increase.

According to the Merck Manual, major risk factors for developing breast cancer include family history of the disease, genetic mutations, early menarche, late first pregnancy, late menopause, history of multiple breast lumps, a prolonged use of oral contraceptives, postmenopausal hormonal replacement therapy, obesity, and exposure to radiation therapy.

Although smoking is not mentioned as a risk factor in breast cancer development, the study authors have reported that, in view of their new findings, quitting smoking can be one of the most reliable prevention measures against invasive breast cancer in female populations.

Jimmy Edwards