They were twice as likely to see disease spread, die from illness
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Jan. 27, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Smoking doubles the chances that a prostate cancer patient will see his disease spread and that he will eventually die from his illness, a new study finds.
"Basically we found that people who smoke had a higher risk of their tumor coming back, of it spreading and, ultimately, even dying of prostate cancer," said study co-author Dr. Michael Zelefsky. He is vice chair of clinical research in the department of radiation oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
"But interestingly, this applied only to 'current smokers' who were smoking around the time they received external beam therapy," Zelefsky added, referring to the standard form of radiation treatment for prostate cancer. "Former smokers did not have the increased risk for disease spread and recurrence that current smokers did," he said.
"However, we also looked at how smoking affected treatment side effects," from the radiation treatment, which can include rectal bleeding and/or frequent and urgent urination, he noted. "And we saw that both patients who smoked and former smokers seemed to have a higher risk of urinary-related side effects after therapy."
Zelefsky and his colleagues reported the findings online Jan. 27 in the journal BJU International.
The research team pointed out that 19 percent of American adults smoke.
To explore the impact of smoking history on prostate cancer treatment and progression, the study authors focused on nearly 2,400 patients who underwent treatment for prostate cancer between 1988 and 2005.
Nearly 50 percent were identified as "former smokers," even if they had only kicked their habit shortly before beginning cancer treatment.
Disease progression, relapse, symptoms and deaths were all tracked for an average of eight years, as were all reactions to the radiation treatment.
The researchers determined that the likelihood of surviving prostate cancer for a decade without experiencing any disease recurrence was about 66 percent among patients who had never smoked. By comparison, that figure fell to 52 percent among patients who were current smokers.
Former smokers fared better than current smokers, with about 62 percent projected to hit the 10-year survival mark.
source : Prostate Cancer Patients Who Smoke Fare Worse, Study Finds
