Women who were actively smoking at the beginning of the Women’s Health Initiative study were twice as likely to have rectal cancer during follow-up than women who had never smoked. However, there was not a similar increased risk for colon cancer.
Exposure to second-hand smoke had no effect on either rectal or colon cancer risk in this study.
Nearly 147,000 women filled out smoking histories when they enrolled in the study. During an average follow-up of about 8 years, 1,242 women were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. The hazard ratio of active smokers to never smokers was 1.98 for rectal cancer – or about double the risk of getting rectal cancer in women who smoked.
SOURCE: Electra D. Paskett et al. The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Volume 99, Number 22, November 13, 2007.
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