Did You Know that Smoking can Cause Bladder Cancer?

Published on August 7, 2008 9:43 AM

Most of people know that smoking can cause lung cancer, but a recent study shows that smoking can cause also bladder cancer. Few people especially smokers know that.

"The general public understands that cigarettes smoking can lead to lung cancer, but very few people understand that it also can lead to bladder cancer," said James E. Montie, M.D., Valassis Professor of Urologic Oncology at the U-M Health System.

Investigators found that in a new study, just over one third of adults knew that smoking raises the risk of bladder cancer. In contrast, 98 percent correctly identified the habit as a risk factor for lung cancer. But after a study of patients with early-stage bladder cancer, researchers found that just 22 percent knew that smoking contributes to the disease.

The researcher noted that smoking is believed to be responsible for half of bladder cancer cases, so quitting could substantially reduce a smoker's risk of the disease. And for people who have been successfully treated for early bladder cancer, quitting can reduce the chances of a relapse.

Montie noted that in the first four years after a smoker quits, the risk of developing bladder cancer decreases by 40 percent compared with patients who continued to smoke.

The researchers found that many smokers - even those with bladder cancer – said that their doctor never advised them to quit.

"Our study suggests that physicians must do a much better job of communicating the risk to our patients, and directing them toward smoking cessation programs," Montie added.

In the United States, more than 68,000 new cases of bladder cancer are expected to be diagnosed this year. Bladder cancer is one of the most costly cancers to treat, so the burden of the disease affects not only patients and their families but also the nation’s health care financing system.

Whites get bladder cancer twice as often as African Americans and Hispanics, and men are two to three times more likely than women to get bladder cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. In addition to smoking, having a family history of the disease also can increase a person’s risk of developing bladder cancer.

Secondhand smoke may be also a risk factor but studies have not determined a conclusive link.