Smoking Increases Growth of High-Risk Polyps in the Colon

According to recent studies, tobacco smoking seems to promote growth of polyps in the large intestine. Researchers found that current smokers were twice as likely as nonsmokers to develop colon polyps. Former smokers also showed a raised risk, though it was less than that of current smokers.

Moreover, the studies found, smoking was peculiarly connected to "risky" polyps; while most intestibal polyps are not dangerous, high-risk ones are comparatively more likely to become cancerous.

The results give the scientific proof that tobacco smoking contributes to both the formation of polyps and their aggressiveness.

While smoking does seem to be a risk factor for polyps, past studies have been mixed as to whether it raises the risk of colon cancer itself. It can be explained by the fact that many studies may not have followed smokers for a long enough period; any heightened colon cancer risk from smoking could take decades to emerge.

The current results suggest that those who refrain from smoking can lower their risk of polyps and, subsequently, colon cancer.

According to scientists, there's also the possibility that smokers would benefit from earlier colon cancer screening. So, patients are advised to start colon cancer screening at the age of 50, though people at higher-than-average risk, such as those with ulcerative colitis, or a family history of colon cancer, often start earlier.

As a matter of fact, some physicians have already suggested lowering the screening age for longtime smokers.

Intestinal polyps typically emerge after the age of fifty, and the large majority of colon cancers develop after this age as well. But it's still not clear whether smokers tend to develop polyps at an earlier-than-average age, or whether their polyps tend to progress more rapidly to cancer.

What is evident is that both current and former smokers should be especially persistent and careful about following the current recommendations on colon cancer screening.