The American Cancer Society reports that aggressive breast cancer is linked to smoking. In a Swedish study, hormone receptor-negative (HR-) type breast cancer -- which is more aggressive and harder to treat -- was found to be more common in current and former smokers. Another study done by researchers at the University of California-Davis Medical Center found that cigarette smoking was associated with spread of breast cancer to the lungs. Those patients also had higher fatality rates.
Nitrosamine, an ingredient in cigarettes, may be the cause of this effect. A study published in Cancer Research shows that the tobacco-specific nitrosamine NNK may cause genetic mutations in breast tissue in female smokers and females exposed to secondhand smoke. Carcinogenic compounds can be stored in fatty tissue in your breast and have been found in breast fluid of women who smoke.
Bottom Line? Stop Smoking, Lower Your Risk
If you smoke tobacco, you are actively pulling carcinogens into your body. The chemicals in tobacco smoke are deposited in your tissues and cause damage, some of which may open the door to damage to your genes. If you stop smoking, it will take years to recover a lower level of risk for developing breast cancer. Still, those are years that may be added to your life.
Get help to quit smoking, and avoid breathing secondhand smoke.
Lower your risk of developing breast cancer
Smoking Increases Your Risk of Breast Cancer
Sources:
"Cigarette Smoking and the Risk of Pulmonary Metastasis From Breast Cancer." Chest Journal. American College of Chest Physicians, 2001.
Importance of Finding Breast Cancer Early, Tobacco Smoke. American Cancer Society. Breast Cancer: Early Detection. Last Updated: 09/17/2007.
"Molecular Carcinogenesis. A cytochrome P4502E1 genetic polymorphism and tobacco smoking in breast cancer." Wiley InterScience. Published: November 1996.
Smoking-Breast Cancer Link Appears Stronger. Fox News. Health. Published: 9/30/2005.
Aggressive Breast Cancer Linked to Smoking. American Cancer Society. Published: 04/18/2001.
