Breast cancer victims who smoke not at risk for more aggressive tumors

According to a new study women who develop breast cancer and smoke are not at an increased risk of developing more aggressive or advanced tumors.

The connection between cigarette smoking and a woman's risk of ever developing breast cancer is controversial and research can be found supporting both sides of the debate.

Many experts believe that smoking increases the risk of developing many cancers.

In order to investigate the possibility that women with breast cancer who smoked were more likely to have a more serious form of the disease, researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia examined data on 6,162 women with breast cancer over a 36 year period.

The researchers found that about 1 out of 10 patients were smokers when they were diagnosed with breast cancer but no increased risk of advanced breast cancer for patients who smoked was seen.

The researchers say there did not appear to be a difference in the cancers that they presented with based on whether or not they had ever smoked.

Lead researcher Dr. Matthew Abramowitz says while the study does not remark on the the rate of breast cancer or whether women are more likely to get breast cancer if they smoke, it was interesting that smoking did not affect the cancers seen.

Experts say the study results change little as women who smoke still have a one in two chance of being killed by smoking if they don't quit and a one in eight lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.

Cigarette smoking causes 87 percent of lung cancer deaths and is responsible for most cancers of the larynx, mouth, esophagus and bladder; cigarette smoking, is the most preventable cause of death in the United States.

The American Cancer Society says more American women have died from lung cancer than breast cancer since 1987.

Dr. Abramowitz presented the findings at a meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology in Los Angeles.