Study: Smoking Increases Rectal Cancer Risk for Men But Not Women

Cigarette smoking, already known to be a risk factor for colon cancer, also increases the risk of rectal cancer for men, according to researchers at the University of Utah.

And exposure to second-hand smoke appears to increase the risk of rectal cancer for men who do not smoke by almost the same amount, the researchers reported in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention.

But the researchers, who studied the smoking habits of 952 patients with rectal cancer cases and 1,205 members of a cancer-free control group, said there did not appear to be any link between cigarette smoking and rectal cancer in women.

The researchers said the highest risk of rectal cancer was among men who smoked an average of a pack-a-day for more than 20 years.

"Exposure to cigarette smoke of others also was associated with increased risk among men," the researchers reported.

Other sources: Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention