Does Smoking Cause Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is today one of the leading cancers among men across the world. Though the exact cause of the cancer is unknown, there are various factors which are considered as risk factors. Various researches have shown that smoking could be one of the risk factors in causing this cancer as well as in aggravating the condition in men stricken with the disease. In addition, research has shown that smoking worsens prostate cancer therapy side effects.

Smoking may help the progress of prostate cancer in several ways in your body. Smoking influences the progression of prostate cancer through a process that affects certain genes in the body and is also likely to alter your hormonal balance by creating an environment conducive to tumor growth. It can increase the amount of steroid hormones called androgens, which can fuel the growth of malignant prostate cells in your body. Also, tobacco is a source of cadmium, a heavy metal that interacts with zinc found in the prostate, which leads to prostate cancer. This human carcinogenic metal inhibits DNA repair in your body, which allows cancer cells to mutate and multiply.

Several research have shown that men under age 65 those who smoke a pack of cigarettes a day for 40 years face a 100 percent increased risk of developing the more aggressive forms of prostate cancer as compared to nonsmokers. Also, compared to nonsmokers, current smokers face a 40 percent increase in the risk of prostate cancer.

In addition, smoking cigarettes could lead to severe side-effects in your body when undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, just as in case of cancers of the head and neck, cervix, lung and breast.. Patients who smoke during treatment normally develop acute gastrointestinal side-effects such as diarrhea, much more severe than nonsmokers. This highlights the importance of quitting smoking before starting radiation therapy.

However, on the positive side smoking doesn’t appear to impact long-term side effects on your gastrointestinal system or on your urogenital system. Research has shown that while the risk of developing prostate cancer increases with the number of packs of cigarettes and the number of years you have smoked, this risk reduces to near that of nonsmokers within about 10 years of your quitting smoking.

Here is a great article on Smoking and Prostate Cancer.