Scientists have warned male smokers about cancer

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Smokers have a lower risk of developing prostate cancer, but a higher the risk of death from this disease. Such data were obtained as part of a large population study conducted by Lund University in Sweden. Researchers followed more than 350,000 people over several decades.

It is well known that smokers have an increased risk of developing various types of cancer, but there are few studies specifically looking at this type of cancer. A major new study may contribute to a more complete picture of the relationship between smoking and the risk of disease and death from prostate cancer.

The researchers used five Swedish population-based studies with information on smoking among men. Since 1974, more than 350,000 men have been included in the study. They were then followed up using several national registries. The scientists used data from the National Prostate Cancer Registry about the type of tumor when making a diagnosis, the method of detection and treatment. During the period covered by the study, 24,731 participants developed prostate cancer and 4,322 people died as a result of the disease.

Among other things, the researchers found that during the time period when the simpler test for prostate cancer was available as part of routine medical examinations, the risk of developing the disease in smokers was reduced. But this is true only for localized prostate cancer, the form of which is most often detected by an asymptomatic PSA test.

“A likely explanation for the lower risk of prostate cancer in smokers is that they may be less likely to undergo a PSA test . On the other hand, smokers have a higher risk of death from prostate cancer, which we observed regardless of the stage of the tumor at the time of diagnosis,” says Dr. Sylvia Jochems, the first author of the study.

The risk of death was about 20% higher among smokers than among men who have never smoked. The risk increased even more if smokers were also overweight or obese. The researchers say it is now important to determine the reason why smokers have a worse prognosis if they develop prostate cancer.