Cigarette smoking may contribute to worse outcomes in bladder cancer patients

In a study of patients with muscle-invasive bladder cancer who had undergone radical cystectomy, cigarette smoking was linked with poor response to cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Also, current smokers in the study, published in BJU International, were at significantly higher risk of cancer recurrence compared with former and never smokers.

The study included 58 never smokers, 87 former smokers, and 56 current smokers.

Additional research is needed to assess the impact of smoking and smoking cessation on survival in patients treated for muscle-invasive bladder cancer.

"As a whole, these results suggest that physicians should have a proactive role in educating patients regarding the detrimental effect of smoking on cancer-specific and overall health outcomes," the authors wrote.