Research

Smokeless tobacco ups oral cancer risk 80 percent: WHO
To help resolve differences of scientific opinion on the relative risks of smokeless tobacco products compared to cigarettes, the World Health Organization conducted a review of recent research on health risks for smokeless tobacco users. The researchers looked at 11 studies from around the world, and found that smokeless tobacco users face an 80% higher risk of oral cancer than nonsmokers. Smokeless tobacco use also raises the risk of developing esophageal and pancreatic cancer by 60%. Findings on lung cancer risk were inconclusive. The report concludes that a smokeless tobacco user’s overall cancer risk is lower than a smoker’s, but higher than that of a tobacco-free individual. The study was published in the July issue of Lancet Oncology. Click here to access the full article. Click here for a brief summary of the findings.

Monitoring of biological markers of passive smoking key to establishing level of cancer risk
A recent review of studies on secondhand smoke explains possible mechanisms for lung cancer developmentt, describes the complications in determining the lung cancer risk associated with secondhand smoke exposure, and proposes a potential solution to the problems encountered in past research. Previous studies have faced difficulties in quantifying the risks of secondhand smoke exposure due to the challenge of measuring long-term exposure levels, and because of the long latency period between the exposure and carcinogenesis. In addition, studies show that the carcinogens in secondhand smoke are the same as those in mainstream smoke inhaled by smokers, but relative amounts of each carcinogen differ between the two types of smoke exposure. For these reasons, the researchers suggest that a more effective way to reveal an individual’s long-term smoke exposure and lung cancer risk would be to monitor biological markers that are common links between secondhand smoke exposure and lung cancer development. Click here to read the press release from the journal Lancet. Click here for the abstract of the article, which was published in the July issue of Lancet Oncology.

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