Passive Smoking and Breast Cancer - a Suspicious Link

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy of women in the world. The disease is caused by infectious and non-infectious, environmental and lifestyle factors. Tobacco smoke has been one of the most widely studied environmental factors wiith possible relevance to breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of tobacco smoking in breast cancer patients in a hospital based cohort and to establish prognostic implications if any. Materials and Methods: A retrospective audit of 100 women with pathological diagnosis of invasive breast cancer was included in this study. The verbal questionnaire elicited information on current and previous history of exposure to smoking in addition to active smoking. All analyses were adjusted for potential confounders, including stage at presentation, alcohol intake, hormonal replacement therapy, oral contraceptive intake, obesity and menopausal status. Results: The mean age at presentation of breast cancer was 51.4 ± 10.86 years. Mean age of presentation was 53.1±11.5 and 45.7±11.9 years in never smokers and passive smokers, respectively. Age at presentation varied widely in patients exposed to tobacco smoke for >10 years in childhood from 40.3± 12.0 years to 47.7± 13.9 in patients exposed for > 20years as adults. Among passive smokers, 60.9% were premenopausal and 39.1% of patients were postmenopausal. In never smokers, 71.4% were post menopausal. Expression of receptors in non-smokers vs passive smokers was comparable with no significant differences. Metastatic potential in lung parenchyma was slightlyelevated in passive smokers as compared to never smokers although statistically non-significant. Conclusions: An inverse relationship exists between the intensity and duration of smoking and the age at presentation and poor prognostic factors. The results strongly suggest efforts should be taken to prevent smoking, encourage quitting and restrict exposure to second hand smoke in India.

The relationship between tobacco and breast cancer incidence: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

“…Although BC is not initially thought to be a tobacco-related cancer, over the past few decades, many chemicals contained in tobacco have been investigated to be a trigger of BC, such as 4-aminobiphenyl ( 19 , 20 ) and benzopyrene ( 21 , 22 ). In addition, evidence of the role of active smoking ( 23 , 24 ) and secondhand smoke ( 25 , 26 ) in the etiology of BC is accumulating, based on adequate animal trials ( 27 , 28 ) and relevant epidemiological evidence ( 29 ). Recent trends have discovered smoking as one of the potential risk factors for BC ( 30 ).…”

Awareness of Risk Factors for Breast Cancer among Casablanca Medical Students

“…Several risk factors including age, genetic mutations, especially the BRCA gene, estrogen exposure, obesity and overweight have been linked to breast cancer [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]. In addition, lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption have been associated with increasing the risk of breast cancer and other types of cancer [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. However, research evidence suggests that breastfeeding [6,12], in addition to high-fiber diet, especially in post-menopausal women, and regular physical activity for at least 150 minutes a week are strongly linked to a decreased risk of breast cancer [21][22][23][24][25].…”

Plausible Roles for RAGE in Conditions Exacerbated by Direct and Indirect (Secondhand) Smoke Exposure

“…Current evidence largely implicates active smoking as a major risk factor in cancer development; however, mounting evidence now suggests that SHS may equally participate. SHS has been shown to increase the risk of developing lung [87], oropharyngeal [88], colorectal [89], breast [88], cervical [90], bladder [90], and pancreatic cancer [91]. Moreover, studies investigating nitrosamines, some of the most potent carcinogens in tobacco smoke, have demonstrated that high levels are present in both mainstream and SHS [92].…”