A new study, published by the Fred Hutchinson Research Center in Seattle, looked at a group of patients who were all diagnosed with colon cancer. Prior to receiving any treatments they were asked to fill out a survey to discover their smoking history.
The patients were divided into three groups: those who never smoked, those who had at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, and those who were currently smoking at the time of diagnosis. The study found people who had at reported any smoking in the past were 23 percent more likely to die or have their cancer return within three years, based on ongoing surveillance of those patients.
The outcome was more dramatic in the group of people who said they were smoking at the time they were diagnosed with colon cancer. They were 47 percent more likely to have the colon cancer reoccur or to die than people who had never smoked. The authors of the study will continue to monitor the patients to see if the smoking continues to affect the prognosis long term.
So, to add to the heart disease and other cancers that have been linked to smoking, there is yet another reason to quit.
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