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Cigarette smoking may increase prostate cancer risk, study finds

Category: Prostate

Men who are regular smokers may benefit from seeking PSA testing sometime in the near future, as a new study from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of California, San Francisco have found that cigarettes may be associated with an increased prostate cancer risk.

"In our study, we found similar results for both prostate cancer recurrence and prostate cancer mortality," said Stacey Kenfield, a research associate in the Harvard School of Public Health Department of Epidemiology and leader of the study. "These data taken together provide further support that smoking may increase risk of prostate cancer progression."

For the study, the team analyzed data collected from the medical records of more than 5,300 men. The results showed that smokers with prostate cancer were 61 percent more likely to die from the condition and survivors were 61 percent more prone to a recurrence of the tumor.

Smoking has long been known to increase the risk of other diseases, such as lung cancer and emphysema. However, this study is the first to connect tobacco to prostate cancer. The researchers said that their findings should provide another reason for men to give up the habit.