Abstract 664: Menthol cigarettes in relation to breast cancer incidence in African American women

Abstract

Abstract The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee has found that smokers of menthol cigarettes have an earlier age at smoking initiation, less success in smoking cessation, and are more likely to be African American than smokers of non-menthol cigarettes. However, whether menthol cigarettes are associated with higher cancer risk relative to non-menthol cigarettes is unclear. Recent studies of smoking and breast cancer suggest that long-term smoking may associated with a small increase in risk, but no data are available on type of cigarette. We assessed the relative effects of menthol and non-menthol cigarettes on incidence of breast cancer in a large prospective cohort of African American women. The Black Women's Health Study has followed approximately 59,000 women with biennial questionnaires since enrollment in 1995. Beginning in 2003, data has been collected on whether cigarettes smoked were menthol or non-menthol; menthol cigarettes were reported by 64.7% of smokers who provided information. During follow-up from 2003 through 2010, 739 incident breast cancer cases occurred. In proportional hazard models that controlled for age and numerous breast cancer risk factors, hazard ratios (HR) were computed for categories of pack-years of smoking of the two types of cigarettes relative to a reference group of never-smokers who reported no regular exposure to second-hand smoke. The HR for β20 pack-years of smoking non-menthol cigarettes was 1.70 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.04-2.76); for β20 pack-years of smoking menthol cigarettes, the HR was 1.14 (95% CI, 0.72-1.82). Our findings suggest that, to the extent that higher pack-years of smoking may be associated with breast cancer, smoking menthol cigarettes is not more harmful than smoking non-menthol cigarettes. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 664. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-664