A medical study warned smokers that they are more susceptible to developing colon cancer and have higher mortality rates from this cancer.
The study, conducted by Italian researchers and published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that tobacco smoking increases the risk of developing colon cancer by 18% and increases the risk of death from this malignant tumor by 25%, compared to non-smokers.
According to the study's lead author, Eduardo Botteri, a biostatistics specialist, and his colleagues in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the European Institute of Oncology in Milan, Italy, statistical analysis shows a significant association between smoking and colorectal cancer incidence and mortality.
The study emphasizes the importance of public awareness that smoking increases cancer risk, not only in organs directly connected to tobacco carcinogens such as the lungs, pharynx, larynx, and upper digestive tract, but also in organs indirectly exposed to tobacco breakdown products, such as the pancreas, kidneys, bladder, cervix, colon, and rectum.
Statistics in the study indicate that tobacco is responsible for approximately 100 million deaths during the last century and over five million deaths annually. However, the study notes that there is still one billion smokers worldwide.
Botteri and his colleagues analyzed data from 106 previous observational and follow-up studies, ranging from limited experimental studies involving only a few hundred participants to very large survey studies exceeding one million participants.
When researchers examined the overall risk of cancer incidence, they found that tobacco smoking is associated with an 18% increase in the likelihood of developing colorectal cancer.
The researchers added that they found a direct proportional relationship between increased risk of this cancer and the increase in the number of cigarettes and packs consumed daily, especially pack-years (number of cigarette packs consumed daily multiplied by years of smoking).
Statistical analysis shows that increased risk among smokers begins after the tenth year of smoking and increases proportionally until reaching statistical significance after 30 years of smoking.

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