Smoking behavior in women with locally advanced cervical carcinoma: a Gynecologic Oncology Group study

Objective

The purpose of this study was to assess cigarette use and environmental smoke exposure in women with cervical cancer.

Study Design

Smoking behavior was recorded prospectively in a clinical trial of women with locally advanced cervical carcinoma.

Results

Of 315 participants, 133 women (42%) were current smokers; 72 women (23%) were former smokers, and 110 women (35%) were never smokers. Current smokers began smoking earlier (16 vs 18 years; P = .009), for more years (29 vs 24 years; P = .005), and in greater amounts (20 vs 11 cigarettes/d; P < .001) than former smokers. Active smokers lived more often with another smoker (63.3%), compared with former smokers (35.0%; P < .001) or never-smokers (28.7%; P < .001). Agreement between self-report and urine cotinine level was high (kappa = 0.872; P < .001). A significant decrease in cotinine level during treatment occurred in 5.2% of current smokers.

Conclusion

Prevalence of smoking and tobacco consumption was twice that of the North American female population. Few smokers quit or decreased consumption during treatment.

Key words: cervical cancer, chemoradiation, smoking