Womens' head and neck cancer risk up 75 percent when they smoke

According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a new study suggests that smoking can increase a person's risk of developing head and neck cancer.

The researchers say smoking significantly increases the risk for head and neck cancers for both men and women, regardless of the anatomic site and include cancers of the larynx, nasal passages/nose, oral cavity and pharynx.

The NCI says every year worldwide, more than 500,000 people are diagnosed with one of these types of cancers; they say men are twice as likely to die from these types of cancers than are women, and are also 3 times more likely to develop one of these types of cancers than women.

For their study, Dr. Neal Freedman from the NCI and co-investigators examined data from more than from 476,211 men and women prospectively followed from 1995 to 2000 to assess the gender differences associated with the risk factors for developing the cancer.

The study authors found that in all categories examined the incidence rates of head and neck cancer were higher in men than in women, but smoking plays a greater role in the development of head and neck cancer in women than men.

While 45 percent of these cancers could be attributed to smoking in men, 75 percent could be attributed to smoking in women.

The researchers say the study confirms the strong associations between current and past cigarette smoking and malignancies of the head and neck in both genders and they call for greater public health efforts to eliminate smoking.

The study is published in the Oct. 1 issue of the journal Cancer.