A new study by physicians at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia finds that women treated with breast-conservation surgery and radiation for their breast cancer live longer if they stop smoking. What's more, survival also is affected by smoking even if women quit before their diagnosis.

Fox Chase radiation oncologist Khanh H. Nguyen, M.D., presented the study results at the 45th Annual Meeting of the Association of Society of Therapeutic Radiology Oncology (ASTRO) in Salt Lake City, Utah. "While smoking is a putative risk factor for developing breast cancer, its impact on treatment results has been uncertain," explained Nguyen.

The study examined the influence of smoking on long-term outcomes of patients with breast cancer treated with breast-conservation therapy. The study evaluated 1,039 non-smokers and 861 smokers who were treated with conservation therapy at Fox Chase from March 1970 to December 2002. The median follow-up of these patients was 67 months. The analysis compared local control, distant metastases, deaths from breast cancer and overall survival in smokers and non-smokers.

"This analysis shows that smoking, either past or present, was associated with increases in distant metastases and deaths from breast cancer," said Nguyen. "Even after we adjusted for different prognostic factors, those who continued to smoke during treatment did not live as long as those who had stopped."

"Our study suggests that smoking cessation remains an integral component in the comprehensive management of breast cancer," Nguyen added.

SOURCES:
45th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, October 21, 2003, Salt Lake City, Utah
Fox Chase Cancer Center (http://www.fccc.edu)