Is Smoking What Causes Skin Cancer?
The Smoking Facts About Squamous Skin Cell Cancer
Is smoking what causes skin cancer?
The smoking facts reveal that squamous cell skin cancer may be one of the health risks of smoking.
There is some recent research (2001) that shows a link between smoking cigarettes and pipes and the
development of skin cancer.
In the study conducted in the Netherlands researchers concluded that one of the
health risks of smoking
was
squamous cell skin cancer 1. They calculated the actual risk to be three times greater in smokers than non-smokers.
They also concluded that quitting smoking reduced your risk.
3 types of Skin Cancer
The 3 types of skin cancer are basal cell, squamous cell, and melanoma.
The names come from the type of skin cells in the epidermis or uppermost layer of the skin that become
cancerous. The type of skin cancer associated with smoking is the squamous cell skin cancer type.
Is Smoking What Causes Skin Cancer? - the Smoking Facts
Researchers have been trying to determine what causes skin cancer for a long time. Many factors have
been associated with the 3 types of skin cancers and some relationships have now been confirmed.
It is known that skin cancer occurs more frequently in populations that are older, male, have had
significant and regular exposure of skin surfaces to the sun, have had radiation exposure and are fair
skinned.
The link to smoking found in the study by DeHertog et al1 was found to be independent of these factors.
What Else is Known about What Causes Skin Cancer?
Certain chemical exposures have also been linked to the development of skin cancers.
These chemicals have been identified as
arsenic and some other chemicals often used in the
petroleum industry.
Arsenic is One of the Ingredients in Cigarettes?
Arsenic is a toxic air contaminant and one of the carcinogenic ingredients in cigarettes.
Arsenic containing pesticides used in tobacco farming persist in the tobacco leaf and subsequently are
inhaled by the smoker with every puff. It is present in mainstream tobacco smoke that is inhaled and
therefore presumed to be in
environmental tobacco smoke as well.
Arsenic has been directly linked to the development of skin cancer.
A smoker inhales approximately 0.8 to 2.4 micrograms of inorganic arsenic per pack of cigarettes2.
The exact mechanism of how smoking is linked to the development of squamous cell skin cancer has not been
directly identified or confirmed. Possibilities include:
- direct contact of the carcinogenic
ingredients in cigarette smoke with the skin - there are over 40 known carcinogenic chemicals in cigarettes. One of those
carcinogens is arsenic.
- weak immune system - a weakened immune system is known to leave people
vulnerable to the development of squamous cell cancer as this phenomenon has been observed and
confirmed in people undergoing
chemotherapy to suppress the immune response such as in the case of organ transplants.
The smoking facts have already revealed that smoking tobacco weakens the immune system functions.
1"When you smoke, you have a three-fold increased risk of developing
squamous cell carcinoma," says co-author Maarten Bastiaens, MD, a member of the Leiden Skin Cancer Study Group at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in the Netherlands. "This type of cancer is easily treated, but also very common. The impact of smoking on squamous cell carcinoma of the skin may be substantial."
De Hertog SA, Wensveen CA, Bastiaens MT, Kielich CJ, Berkhout MJ, Westendorp RG, Vermeer BJ, Bouwes Bavinck JN; Leiden Skin Cancer Study. "Relation between smoking and skin cancer." J Clin Oncol 2001 19(1):231-8. 3 September 2008.
2California Air Resources Board Staff Report (1990) Proposed Identification of Inorganic Arsenic as a Toxic Air Contaminant
The relationship between smoking and cancer is not breaking news.
With the new smoking facts it is
now apparent smoking can be included in the answer to the question
"What causes skin cancer?"
and squamous cell skin cancer can now be added to the ever growing list of health risks related to smoking.
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