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Smoking Link to Head and Neck Cancers Reveals Greater Risk in Women
< Aug.
29, 2007 > -- Smoking significantly increases the risk for head and neck cancers for both men and women, regardless of the anatomic site.
 According to the American
Lung Association (ALA), cigarettes cause 87
percent of all lung cancer cases. In addition, smokers
are six times more likely than nonsmokers to develop
cancer in the oral cavity (mouth).
In spite of these statistics, not everyone is aware that smoking plays such a strong role in this link, in addition to oral tobacco products, such as chewing tobacco or spit tobacco.
According to this study, published in the medical journal Cancer, a large prospective study withover 400,000 participants confirmed strong associations between current and past cigarette smoking and cancers of the head and neck in both genders.
A prospective study is one in which people are followed forward in time to look at the relationship between variables. This helps researchers identify risk factors for diseases that develop at a later point in life.
Dr.
Neal Freedman from the National
Cancer Institute (NCI) and
co-investigators analyzed data from 476,211 men and
women followed from 1995 to 2000 to determine gender
differences in risk for cancer in specific head and
neck sites.
Analysis shows that the risk of smoking leading to any type of head and neck cancer is significantly greater in women than in men. While 45 percent of these cancers could be attributed to smoking in men, 75 percent could be attributed to smoking in women.
While tobacco use has long been identified as an important risk factor for head and neck cancers, this is a new finding that smoking plays a greater role in the development of head and neck cancer in women than men.
Cancers of the larynx, nasal passages/nose, oral cavity, and pharynx (back of the throat) make up head and neck cancers. More than 500,000 people are diagnosed with these cancers every year worldwide.
According to the NCI, men are over three times more likely than women to be diagnosed with head and neck cancer and almost as likely to die from their disease.
Around 90 percent of people with oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer use tobacco, and the risk of developing these cancers increases with the amount smoked or chewed and the length of time these habits are continued.
Smokers are 6 times more at risk than nonsmokers to develop these cancers. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), about 37 percent of patients who continue to smoke after apparent cure of their cancer will develop second cancers of the oral cavity, oropharynx, or larynx, compared with only 6 percent of those who stop smoking.
Tobacco smoke from cigarettes, cigars, or pipes can cause cancers anywhere in the oral cavity or oropharynx, as well as causing cancers of the larynx, lungs, esophagus, kidneys, bladder, and several other organs.
"Incidence rates were higher in men than in women in all categories examined,” conclude the authors, “but smoking was associated with a larger relative increase in head and neck cancer risk in women than in men.” To
reduce the burden of head and neck cancer, public health
goals should continue to promote eliminating smoking
in both women and men.
Always consult your physician for more information.
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Quitting smoking is both a mental and a physical undertaking. Mentally, you should be ready and relatively stress-free. Physically, you need to commit to exercising daily and getting plenty of sleep.
A person trying to quit must overcome two obstacles: a physical addition to nicotine and a habit.
The American Academy of Otolaryngology (AAO) and the American Lung Association (ALA) offer the following tips to help users quit using tobacco products:
In some cases, smokers benefit from nicotine replacement products to help break their smoking habit. Nicotine replacement products continue to give the smoker nicotine, although in smaller quantities than a cigarette, to meet their nicotine craving.
However, the benefit of nicotine replacement products is the elimination of tars and poisonous gases that cigarettes emit.
Pregnant or nursing women, and people with other medical conditions, should consult with their physician before using any nicotine replacement products. Some examples of nicotine replacement products include:
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nicotine chewing gum - an over-the-counter chewing gum that releases small amounts of nicotine to help reduce nicotine withdrawal symptoms.
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nicotine patch - an over-the-counter patch applied to the upper body once a day that releases a steady dosage of nicotine to help reduce the urge to smoke.
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nicotine inhaler or nasal spray - a prescription nicotine replacement product that releases nicotine to help reduce withdrawal symptoms (requires a physician's approval before use).
Zyban®,
a non-nicotine alternative to help people stop smoking,
was approved in 1996 by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Offered to smokers who want to quit, Zyban (Bupropion HCI), in pill form, has been shown to alter mood transmitters in the brain that are linked to addiction. Zyban must be prescribed by a physician and may not be appropriate for everyone. Consult your physician for more information.
There is another smoking cessation medication approved by the FDA called
Chantix® (varenicline) that has been available
in the US as of 2006. This medication works differently
than any of the other nicotine replacement products
or Zyban. Chantix affects the nicotine receptors in
the brain, decreasing nicotine cravings and withdrawal
symptoms, and making smoking less pleasurable. It is
available only by prescription. In early studies, Chantix
appears to be even more effective than Zyban in helping
people stay smoke-free.
Always consult your physician for more information.
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