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Tobacco Use and Outcomes in Gynecologic Malignancy

  • Gynecologic Oncology (R Salani, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Obstetrics and Gynecology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Tobacco use remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Tobacco contains many carcinogens as well as nicotine, which contributes to the development of multiple malignancies. In addition to malignancies of the head and neck, several gynecologic malignancies have been associated with tobacco use including cervical, vulvar, and vaginal cancers. Additionally, tobacco is associated with worse prognosis and increased rate of complications in gynecologic cancer patients of all disease sites. Recent literature in the area of tobacco use and gynecologic malignancy is highlighted in this review including tobacco’s association with treatment complications, secondary malignancy, and surgical complications. A focus is placed on tobacco cessation as a means to improve these outcomes. The use of automated referrals to reduce provider burden and targeting of the preoperative window are valuable strategies. Smoking cessation should be encouraged by oncologists and survivorship programs as a means to improve the health of women with gynecologic malignancy and reduce healthcare costs.

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Conflict of Interest

Leslie H. Clark and Kenneth H. Kim declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Leslie H. Clark & Kenneth H. Kim

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  1. Leslie H. Clark
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  2. Kenneth H. Kim
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Correspondence to Leslie H. Clark.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Gynecologic Oncology

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Clark, L.H., Kim, K.H. Tobacco Use and Outcomes in Gynecologic Malignancy. Curr Obstet Gynecol Rep 4, 259–264 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13669-015-0128-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13669-015-0128-9

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