Bladder cancer risk for male cigarette smokers is high—50 to 65 percent of men diagnosed with it are smokers. And now women, thought to be at a lower risk, may be just as vulnerable, according to new research. While previous studies show that 20 to 30 percent of women with bladder cancer were smokers, a large study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that smoking is now responsible for half of bladder cancer cases in women.
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Researchers from the National Cancer Institute analyzed health questionnaire data for more than 450,000 men and women enrolled in the NIH/AARP Diet and Health Study launched in 1995. During the course of follow-up, between 1995 and 2006, 3,896 men and 627 women were diagnosed with bladder cancer. Current smokers were four times more likely to develop bladder cancer than those in the study who never smoked, and former smokers were twice as likely.
The study’s authors say one of the reasons for the new findings is that earlier studies were conducted during times or in geographic regions where smoking was much less common among women. And the composition of cigarettes has also changed.
Bottom line: Smoking tobacco appears to cause half of all cases of bladder cancer. Quitting smoking means not only reducing your risk of bladder cancer, but also reducing dozens of other health problems.
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