SMOKING AND COLON CANCER RISK
You probably know that smoking and lung cancer are very closely related, with heavy smokers being the most prone to suffer from lung cancer. Smoking also raises one’s risk of heart disease.
Now, smokers can add pre-cancerous growths in the colon to the host of increased health risks they face.
“He found a polyp and I was very happy about that. They’re going to send it out for a biopsy.” Most people wouldn’t feel the same way. But Mildred Odens is thankful her doctor found something on colonoscopy that could become cancer, and removed it. And now there’s evidence that she’s at particularly high risk for precancerous colon polyps. “Years ago when I was young, I did smoke. After I read extensively on it, I just stopped right away. No more,” says Mildred.
A new study presented at the major gastrointestinal meeting shows smokers face a significant risk of developing colon polyps – precancerous growths in the colon.
Dr., David Greenwald, a gastroenterologist at Montefiore Medical Center, says, “Polyps are pieces of tissue that grow in the intestine. Some polyps are harmless, I liken them to freckles, other polyps grow up to be more serious and some develop into cancer. Some polyps are pre-malignant and can turn into cancer.”
The researchers found cigarette smokers were more likely to have polyps, to have a greater number of polyps, and to have larger polyps than non-smokers. They figured there was a 4% increased risk of polyps for every additional year of smoking.
“So this is the first study that I’m aware of that links cigarette smoking and increase numbers and increase size colon polyps. There’s no indication in the study as to why that association might exist and it clearly is going to merit further study. But it would be something that anybody who smokes currently should be worried about,” says Dr. Greenwald.
Interestingly, these researchers also found there was a significant association between the use of Vitamin C and the absence of polyps. Patients taking doses of Vitamin C equal to or more than 1000 milligrams a day were studied, and none of them had polyps.
For Mildred, getting tested with a colonoscopy, especially in light of her smoking history, gives her a peace of mind.
“Go right away and make an appointment and have it taken care of. No matter how well you feel or how young you are, you should really take it,” says Mildred.
The study found the chance of left-sided polyps, which is where most colon cancers are found, was 2.7 times higher than among non-smokers. This association was even more significant in smokers above 50 years of age. The study should serve as a warning for all those who think that the only connection to worry about is the one between smoking and lung cancer- smoking can damage your body in other ways as well.