ABSTRACT
Cancer of the cervix is the third most common cancer among women worldwide and its etiology is not clearly understood. Human papillomavirus can be found in approximately 95% of cervical cancers, but it does not appear to be necessary or sufficient to induce malignancy. In 1977, Winkelstein suggested that cigarette smoking was a causative factor in the development of cervical cancer. We report a meta-analysis of cigarette smoking and cervical disease and conclude that the data support a role for cigarette smoking as a risk factor for cervical cancer. We propose a multifactorial hypothesis involving a virus-tar interaction as the etiology of cervical cancer.
Subject(s)
Smoking/adverse effects , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/etiology , Female , Humans , Papillomaviridae , Papillomavirus Infections/complications , Risk Factors , Tars/adverse effects , Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/virologyABSTRACT
Cigarette smoking is considered a causative factor in a variety of cancers. However, the role of smoking in cervical cancer is disputed, in part because women who smoke may have other risk factors for cervical cancer, particularly HPV infection. We reviewed cigarette smoking prevalence, cervical and lung cancer incidence, and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the US and 73 other countries. It appears that smoking may play a prominent role in cervical cancer in developing countries, but less of a role in other countries.
