HONOLULU, A new study indicates that there maybe gender difference of the risk of tobacco for Colo-rectal cancer and women who smoke and drink maybe at higher risk of developing the cancer.
Researcher Anna L. Zisman, M.D. of Evanston Northwestern Health Care presented her findings at the 70th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology. It is known that smoking and alcohol use are well-established risk factors for colorectal cancer.According to Dr. Zisman, "Understanding interactions between genetic and environmental factors, such as smoking and alcohol use, is critical for colorectal cancer risk stratification, and will help us design effective screening strategies."
Dr. Zisman and her colleagues studied women's susceptibility to colorectal cancer compared to men. They used the IMPAC Medical Registry Services Cancer Information Resource File that has a large database from over 350 teaching and community hospitals. A regression analysis of gender, tobacco and alcohol use was done.
They found that while age of onset of colorectal cancer was slightly younger in males than females in the non-smoking/non-drinking group, current smokers had a markedly decreased age of presentation for both men and women. Similarly, alcohol use was associated with an earlier age of diagnosis in males and females. An assessment of the differential sensitivity to smoking and alcohol use in men and women revealed that women are sensitive to smoking as a risk factor for colorectal cancer but not alcohol. "We can see that while both men and women who use tobacco and alcohol are diagnosed with colorectal cancer at an earlier age, the effect of tobacco is significantly greater in women," said Dr. Zisman.
Contact: Anne-Louise Oliphant
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301-263-9000
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American College of Gastroenterology
(Source: Eureka Alert)
