There is not a single health benefit from smoking. So it should come as no surprise that smoking is not a habit your prostate would like you to have. Most large studies, however, have not found a link between smoking and the development of prostate cancer, although some trials have suggested that men who smoke may be more likely to die of the disease. One possible reason for this relationship may be that cigarette smoke contains substances that promote cancer by affecting the DNA in cancerous cells, but not cause prostate cancer itself.
Here’s some of what the experts know so far about smoking and prostate health.
- A study reported in the Journal of Urology found that among younger men (55 or younger) who had prostate cancer, those who were current or former smokers were more likely to have their cancer spread outside the prostate. The risk for current smokers was higher than that for former smokers. (Roberts 2003) More specifically, the researchers collected data on the smoking histories of more than 350 men who had undergone surgery for prostate cancer and who were younger than 55 at the time of their operation. When the data were analyzed, the investigators found that men who had ever smoked were 66 percent more likely to have their cancer metastasize (spread) by the time of surgery when compared to men who had never smoked. The increased risk for men who had smoked within the last decade was 2.5 times, while the risk for current smokers was more than 3.5 times higher.
The researchers also found that the risk of having more advanced cancer was related to the number of cigarettes the men smoked, with the risk being highest for men who had a history of at least 40 “pack years,” which translates into having smoked one pack a day for 40 years, or two packs a day for 20 years.
- In a more recent study (Weinmann 2009), researchers evaluated 768 health plan members who died of prostate cancer between 1997 and 2001. Overall, the investigators found that men who died from prostate cancer were more likely to have been cigarette smokers.
- Here is yet one more study, this time conducted by the National Cancer Institute. (Watters 2009) The investigators explored whether smoking affected the risk of prostate cancer within a large study of dietary and environmental cancer risk factors among 283,312 men ages 50 to 71 when they enrolled in the study (1995-1996). After adjusting for factors such as age, race, height, body mass index, physical activity level, family history of prostate cancer, and many other items, the researchers found 14,810 nonadvanced and 1,830 advanced prostate cancers through 2003, and 394 men died of their disease through 2005. Men who still smoked had a decreased risk of nonadvanced prostate cancer, but an increased risk of fatal prostate cancer. Former smoking was also associated with a decreased risk of nonadvanced prostate cancers, but not fatal prostate cancers.
The data is confusing, but any way you read it, smoking is a habit that does not have a healthy ending.
