Abstract
Objectives: To evaluate whether heavy cigarette smoking as a teenager or long-term smoking increases breast cancer risk or, alternatively, whether smoking acts as an anti-estrogen and reduces risk.
Methods: Data from a multi-center, population-based, case-control study among women under age 55 were analyzed.
Results: Among women under age 45, there was a modest inverse relation with current (OR=0.82, 95% CI=0.67, 1.01) but not past (OR=0.99, 95% CI=0.81, 1.21) smoking. Odds ratios were decreased for current smokers who began at an early age (0.59 for≤15, 95% CI=0.41, 0.85) or continued for long periods of time (0.70 for >21 years, 95% CI=0.52, 0.94). In subgroup analyses, reduced odds ratios were observed among current smokers who were ever users of oral contraceptives (0.79, 95% CI=0.63, 0.98), were in the lowest quartile of adult body size (0.53, 95% CI=0.34, 0.81), or never or infrequently drank alcohol (0.68, 95% CI=0.47, 0.98). Among women ages 45-54, there was little evidence for an association with smoking.
Conclusions: These results suggest that breast cancer risk among women under age 45 may be reduced among current smokers who began smoking at an early age, or long-term smokers, but require confirmation from other studies.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Palmer JR, Rosenberg LR. Cigarette smoking and the risk of breast cancer. Epidemiol Rev 1993; 15: 145–56.
Hiatt RA, Fireman BH. Smoking, menopause, and breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 1986; 76: 833–8.
Brownson RC, Blackwell CW, Pearson DK, Reynolds RD, Richens JW, Papermaster BW. Risk of breast cancer in relation to cigarette smoking. Archiv Intern Med 1988; 148: 140–4.
Ranocchia D, Minelli L, Modolo MA. Cigarette smoke and the hormonal receptors status in breast cancer. Eur J Epidemiol 1991; 7: 389–95.
Baron JA, Newcomb PA, Longnecker MP, Mittendorf R, Storer BE, Clapp RW, Bogdan G, Yuen J. Cigarette smoking and breast cancer. Cancer Epidemiol, Biomarkers Prev 1996; 5: 399–403.
Palmer JR, Rosenberg L, Clark EA, Stolley PD, Warshauer ME, Zauber AG, Shapiro S. Breast cancer and cigarette smoking: a hypothesis. Am J Epidemiol 1991; 134: 1–13.
Calle EE, Miracle-McMahill HL, Thun MJ, Heath Jr. C. Cigarette smoking and risk of fatal breast cancer. Am J Epidemiol 1994; 139: 1001–7.
Bennicke K, Carsten C, Sabroe S, Serensen HT. Cigarette smoking and breast cancer. BMJ 1995; 310: 1431–3.
Stockwell HG, Hyman GH. Cigarette smoking and the risk of female reproductive cancer. Am J Obstetr Gynecol 1987; 157: 35–40.
McMahon B, Trichopoulos D, Cole P, Brown J. Cigarette smoking and urinary estrogens. N Eng J Med 1982; 307: 1062–5.
Baron JA. Smoking and estrogen-related disease. Am J Epidemiol 1984; 119(1): 9–22.
Baron JA, La Vecchia C, Levi F. The antiestrogenic effect of cigarette smoking in women. Am J Obstetr Gynecol 1990; 162: 502–14.
Brinton LA, Daling JR, Liff J, Schoenberg JB, Malone KE, Stanford JL, Coates RJ, Gammon MD, Hanson L, Hoover RN. Oral contraceptives and breast cancer risk among younger women. J Natl Cancer Inst 1995; 87: 827–35.
Brinton LA, Potischman NA, Swanson CA, Schoenberg JB, Coates RJ, Gammon MD, Malone KE, Stanford JL, Daling JR. Breastfeeding and breast cancer risk. Cancer Causes Control 1995; 6: 199–208.
Waksberg J. Sampling methods for random digit dialing. J Am Statist Assoc 1978; 73: 40–6.
Swanson CA, Coates RJ, Schoenberg JB, Malone KE, Gammon MD, Stanford JL, Shorr IJ, Potischman NA, Brinton LA. Body size and breast cancer risk among women under age 45 years. Am J Epidemiol 1996; 143: 698–706.
Swanson CA, Coates RJ, Malone KE, Gammon MD, Schoenberg JB, Brogan DJ, McAdams M, Potischman N, Hoover RN, Brinton JA. Alcohol consumption and breast cancer risk among women under age 45. Epidemiology 1997; 8: 231–7.
Hosmer DW, Lemenshow S. Applied Logistic Regression. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1989.
Vessey M, Baron J, Doll R, McPherson K, Yeates D. Oral contraceptives and breast cancer: final report of an epidemiological study. Br J Cancer 1983; 47: 455–62.
Meara J, McPherson K, Roberts M, Jones L, Vessey M. Alcohol, cigarette smoking and breast cancer. Br J Cancer 1989; 60: 70–3.
O'Connell DL, Hulka BS, Chambless LE, Wilkinson WE, Deubner DC. Cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and breast cancer risk. J Natl Cancer Inst 1987; 78: 229–34.
Vatten LJ, Kvinnsland S. Cigarette smoking and risk of breast cancer: a prospective study of 24 329 Norwegian women. Eur J Cancer 1990; 26: 830–3.
Hiatt RA, Klatsky AL, Armstrong MA. Alcohol consumption and the risk of breast cancer in a prepaid health plan. Cancer Res 1988; 48: 2284–7.
MacMahon B, Trichopoulos D, Cole P, Brown J. Cigarette smoking and urinary estrogens. N Engl J Med 1982; 307(17): 1062–5.
Westhoff C, Gentile G, Lee J, Zacur H, Helbig D. Predictors of ovarian steroid secretion in reproductive-age women. Am J Epidemiol 1996; 144(4): 381–8.
Willett W, Stampfer MJ, Bain C, Lipnick R, Speizer FE, Rosner BA, Cramer D. Cigarette smoking, relative weight, and menopause. Am J Epidemiol 1983; 117: 651–8.
Jick H, Porter JB, Morrison AS. Relation between smoking and age of natural menopause. Lancet 1977; i: 1354–5.
Brinton JA, Barrett RJ, Berman ML, Mortel R, Twiggs LB, Wilbanks GD. Cigarette smoking and the risk of endometrial cancer. Am J Epidemiol 1993; 137: 281–91.
Baron JA, Byers T, Greenberg ER, Cummings KM, Swanson M. Cigarette smoking in women with cancers of the breast and reproductive organs. J Natl Cancer Inst 1986; 77: 677–80.
Kiel DP, Baron JA, Anderson JJ, Hannan MT, Felson DT. Smoking eliminates the protective effect of oral estrogens on the risk for hip fracture among women. Ann Intern Med 1992; 116(9): 716–21.
Rautalahti M, Albanes D, Virtamo J, Palmgren J, Haukka J, Heinonen OP. Lifetime menstrual activity — indicator of breast cancer risk. Eur J Epidemiol 1993; 9: 17–25.
Schechter MT, Miller AB, Howe GR. Cigarette smoking and breast cancer: a case-control study of screening program participants. Am J Epidemiol 1985; 121: 479–87.
Field NA, Baptiste MS, Nasca PC, Metzger BB. Cigarette smoking and breast cancer. Int J Epidemiol 1992; 21: 842–8.
Ewertz M. Smoking and breast cancer risk in Denmark. Cancer Causes Control 1990; 1: 31–7.
London SJ, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Rosner BA, Speizer FE. Prospective study of smoking and the risk of breast cancer. N Engl J Med 1989; 81: 1625–31.
Chu SY, Stroup NE, Wingo PA, Lee NC, Peterson HB, Gwinn ML. Cigarette smoking and the risk of breast cancer. Am J Epidemiol 1990; 131(2): 244–53.
Rohan TE, Baron JA. Cigarette smoking and breast cancer. Am J Epidemiol 1989; 129: 36–42.
van Leeuwen FE, de Vries F, van der Kooy K, Rookus M. Smoking and breast cancer risk. Am J Epidemiol 1997; 145(11): S29
Cooper JA, Rohan TE, Cant EL McK, Horsfall DJ, Tilley WD. Risk factors for breast cancer by oestrogen receptor status: a population-based case-control study. Br J Cancer 1989; 59: 119–25.
Stanford JL, Szklo M, Boring CC, et al. A case-control study of breast cancer stratified by estrogen receptor status. Am J Epidemiol 1987; 125: 184–94.
McTiernan A, Thomas DB, Johnson LK. Risk factors for estrogen receptor-rich and estrogen receptor-poor breast cancers. J Natl Cancer Inst 1986; 77: 894–54.
Yoo KY, Tajima K, Miura S, Takeuchi T, Hirose K, Risch H, Dubrow R. Breast cancer risk factors according to combined estrogen and progesterone receptor status: a case-control analysis. Am J Epidemiol 1997; 146(4): 307–14.
Potter JD, Cerhan JR, Sellers TA, McGovern PG, Drinkard C, Kushi LR, Folsom AR. Progesterone and estrogen receptors and mammary neoplasia in the Iowa Women's Health Study: How many kinds of breast cancer are there? Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 1995; 4: 319–26.
Ranstam J, Olsson H. Alcohol, cigarette smoking, and the risk of breast cancer. Cancer Detec Prev 1995; 19(6): 487–93.
Smith SJ, Deacon JM, Chilvers CED, and members of the UK National Case-Control Study Group. Alcohol, smoking, passive smoking and caffeine in relation to breast cancer risk in young women. Br J Cancer 1994; 70: 112–9.
Schechter MT, Miller AB, Howe GR, Baines CJ, Craib KJP, Wall C. Cigarette smoking and breast cancer: case-control studies of prevalent and incident cancer in the Canadian National Breast Cancer Screening Study. Am J Epidemiol 1989; 130: 213–20.
Schatzkin A, Carter CL, Green SB, et al. Is alcohol consumption related to breast cancer? Results from the Framingham Heart Study. J Natl Cancer Inst 1989; 81: 31–5.
Adami H-O, Lund E, Bergstrom R, Meirik O. Cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption and risk of breast cancer in young women. Br J Cancer 1988; 58: 832–7.
Brinton JA, Schairer C, Stanford JL, Hoover RN. Cigarette smoking and breast cancer. Am J Epidemiol 1986; 123: 614–22.
Rosenberg L, Schwingl PJ, Kaufman DW, Miller DR, Helmrich SP, Stolley PD, Schottenfeld D, Shapiro S. Breast cancer and cigarette smoking. N Engl J Med 1984; 310: 92–4.
Porter JB, Jick H. Breast cancer and cigarette smoking. N Engl J Med 1983; 309: 186.
McCredie MRE, Dite GS, Giles GG, Hopper JL. Breast cancer in Australian women under the age of 40. Cancer Causes Control 1998; 9: 189–98.
Ambrosone CB, Freudenheim JL, Graham S, Marshall JR, Vena JE, Brasure JR, Michalek AM, Laughlin R, Nemoto T, Gillenwater KA, Harrington AM, et al. Cigarette smoking, N-acetyltransferase 2 genetic polymorphisms, and breast cancer risk. JAMA 1996; 276: 1494–501.
Hunter DJ, Hankinson SE, Hough H, Gertig DM, Garcia-Closas M, Speigelman D, Manson JE, Colditz GA, Willett WC, Speizer FE, Kelsey K. A prospective study of NAT2 acetylation genotype, cigarette smoking, and risk of breast cancer. Carcinogenesis 1997; 18(11): 2127–32.
Wells AJ. Breast cancer, cigarette smoking, and passive smoking. Am J Epidemiol 1991; 133: 208–10.
Morabia A, Bernstein M, Heritier S, Khatchatrian N. Relation of breast cancer with passive and active exposure to tobacco smoke. Am J Epidemiol 1996; 143: 918–28.
Sandler DP, Everson RB, Wilcox AJ, Browder JP. Cancer risk in adulthood from early life exposure to parents' smoking. Am J Public Health 1985; 75(5): 487–9
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gammon, M.D., Schoenberg, J.B., Teitelbaum, S.L. et al. Cigarette smoking and breast cancer risk among young women (United States). Cancer Causes Control 9, 583–590 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008868922799
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008868922799