Smoking doubles the risk of developing esophageal cancer in people with Barrett's esophagus, according to a new study in Gastroenterology (January 13, 2012).
The study, which was conducted over 13 years by an international team of researchers, involved more than 3,000 Barrett's esophagus patients. The researchers found that those who smoked tobacco were twice as likely to develop esophageal cancer than those who did not.
"We found that tobacco smoking emerged as the strongest lifestyle risk factor for cancer progression for patients with Barrett's esophagus," said Helen Coleman, PhD, of the Centre for Public Health in Queen's University Belfast School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Biomedical Sciences. "The risk of developing this cancer doubled for those who were smoking tobacco."
One of the most interesting observations was that someone who smoked less than one pack a day was still as likely to develop cancer as those who smoked many more, she added.
The researchers were able to get information about smoking at the time a person was first diagnosed with Barrett's esophagus to see how this influenced cancer risk years later. This is important for reducing bias known to be associated with asking patients about their smoking habits in the past.
Although these findings need to be confirmed in future studies, the researchers suggest that tobacco smoking should be discouraged and smoking-cessation strategies considered in Barrett's esophagus patients to reduce future cancer risk.
