Smoking Ups Risk of Common Type of Breast Cancer in Young Women

Young women who smoke are at a higher risk of developing a common type of breast cancer, according to a new study.

Previous research has shown that smoking increases risk of developing lung and breast cancers among others. The new study by Christopher Li, MD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, looked at the different subtypes of breast cancer in women with a history of smoking.

The team obtained data from 778 patients with estrogen receptor positive breast cancer (common type of breast cancer) and 182 patients with triple-negative breast cancer (which is less common, but more aggressive). About 938 cancer-free controls also participated in the study.

Cancer patients in the study were between 22 and 44 years of age. Researchers found that women who smoked a pack of cigarettes for a decade had 60 percent increased risk of developing estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. But, the risk of contracting the deadly triple negative breast cancer remained the same in these women.

"The health hazards associated with smoking are numerous and well known. This study adds to our knowledge in suggesting that with respect to breast cancer, smoking may increase the risk of the most common molecular subtype of breast cancer but not influence risk of one of the rarer, more aggressive subtypes," said Dr. Li in a news release.

The study is published in the journal Cancer.                                                 

According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 232,340 women developed breast cancer in 2013.