Study: Smoking before or after a breast cancer diagnosis associated with poorer breast cancer survival
Contents
At a glance | Questions for your doctor |
Findings | In-depth |
Clinical trials | Limitations |
Guidelines | Resources |
STUDY AT A GLANCE
This study is about:
How cigarette smoking before and/or after a diagnosis of breast cancer affects breast cancer survival and other smoking-related diseases.
Why is this study important?
While experts may not have enough evidence to confirm a direct relationship between smoking and breast cancer, the 2014 Report of the Surgeon General on the health consequences of smoking suggested that smoking may cause breast cancer. Beyond the risk of breast cancer, cigarette smoking is an important public health issue. It increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, overall diminished health, and causes more than 480,000 deaths in the U.S. each year.
Study findings:
- Women who smoked one year before their breast cancer diagnosis were more likely to die of breast cancer than women who never smoked.
- Women who quit smoking after their breast cancer diagnosis were less likely to die from breast cancer than women who continued to smoke after diagnosis.
What does this mean for me?
While no studies directly implicate cigarette smoking as a cause of breast cancer, this study found that smoking appears to affect breast cancer mortality. Researchers saw a benefit for women who quit smoking after their breast cancer diagnosis; that is promising, showing that quitting smoking, even later rather than sooner, can improve health.
Additionally, cigarette smoking has harmful health effects throughout the body. Women and men who smoke should get whatever help they need to quit.
Posted 2/23/16
References
Fact Sheet: Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking
Passarelli MN, Newcomb, PA, Hampton JM, et al. “Cigarette Smoking Before and After Breast Cancer Diagnosis: Mortality From Breast Cancer and Smoking-Related Diseases.” Journal of Clinical Oncology. Published online first on January 25, 2016.
Disclosure
FORCE receives funding from industry sponsors, including companies that manufacture cancer drugs, tests and devices. All XRAYS articles are written independently of any sponsor and are reviewed by members of our Scientific Advisory Board prior to publication to assure scientific integrity.
This article is relevant for:
People who smoke cigarettes
Be part of XRAY:
- I have smoked for a long time and I am having trouble quitting. What can I do?
- I have smoked for a long time—how will quitting now make a difference to my health?
- I want to quite but I'm afraid of gaining weight. Are there any options for quitting that lower the chances that I will gain weight?
- A member of my family smokes. Will the secondhand smoke exposure affect me?
- What other actions can reduce my breast cancer risk?
Who covered this study?
Health Day
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Latinos Health
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Oncology Nurse Advisor
It is never too late for breast cancer survivors to stop smoking
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Healio
Quitting smoking reduces risk for breast cancer death
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The Sacramento Bee
Health Bites: Breast cancer, smoking don’t mix
This article rates 3.0 out of 5 stars