Study: Smoking to Risk for Skin Cancer in Women

If you're a woman who smokes and you are looking for another reason to quit, consider this: A new study has found a link between tobacco use and skin cancer.


The study found that women who had squamous cell skin cancer were more likely to have smoked than those who were free from the disease. And those who smoked at least 20 years were twice as likely to develop squamous cell skin cancer, a less aggressive form of skin cancer than melanoma.
Men who smoked had a modest risk for the two types of non-melanoma skin cancer -- basal cell and squamous cell cancer -- but the results weren't statistically significant, the study authors noted.
"We don't know why," said study lead author Dana Rollison, referring to the difference between women's and men's risk. Both men and women get a lot of exposure to the sun, the main risk factor for skin cancer, she noted.
But lung cancer research may offer a clue, said Rollison, an associate member in the Moffitt Cancer Center department of cancer epidemiology, in Tampa, Fla. Hormonal differences affecting the metabolization of nicotine and the body's ability to repair damage to lung DNA caused by smoking have been noted before, suggesting that the female hormone estrogen may play a role, she said.


Smoking was linked to skin cancer in women, as the study indicated that women who suffered from squamous cell skin cancer were more likely to have smoked, when compared against women who did not have the disease. In addition, women who have been smoking for at least 20 years were found to be twice as likely to develop squamous cell skin cancer.


The study involved an analysis of data from 383 patients suffering from skin cancer, which were compared against those of 315 study participants who did not have the disease. The participants answered questions regarding how much they smoked, when their smoking habit began, and how long they have been smoking.


The results of the analysis showed that the more people smoked, the likelihood that they will develop skin cancer also increases.


The study authors also noted that men smokers had a modest risk for two types of non-melanoma skin cancer (basal cell and squamous cell skin cancer), although the results were not statistically significant. Dana Rollison, lead author of the study, shared that while both men and women get a lot of sun exposure, the main risk factor for skin cancer, they do not know why there was a difference between the risk of developing the disease among men and women.


The study was published online in the journal Cancer Causes Control.