Study Suggests Second-Hand Smoke Impacts Certain Cancer Treatments
- Actor Michael Douglas, 79, is 14 years removed from being declared cancer-free after a throat cancer diagnosis in 2010.
- New research published in in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences says that people diagnosed with head and neck cancers who are undergoing cisplatin chemotherapy and exposed to second-hand smoke are less likely to experience effective chemo treatment.
- Researchers who led the study said that “exposure to second-hand smoke decreases head and neck cancer cisplatin chemotherapy induced cell death and increases head and neck cancer cell viability.”
“Basic Instinct” star Michael Douglas, 79, continues to thrive in his acting career with his new television series “Franklin” where he portrays Benjamin Franklin. As remarkable as his career has been over the decades, this year, he marks 14 years since beating throat cancer, which is quite the feat in itself.
Equally as remarkable is new research revealing something about head and neck cancers – as what Douglas dealt with – and how second-hand smoke affects patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment.
Read MoreView this post on Instagram
Cisplatin is a type of chemotherapy that contains the metal platinum. The National Cancer Institute explains that it works by damaging the DNA of dividing cancer cells so they cannot be repaired, effectively stopping or slowing cancer growth.
Researchers who led the study said that “exposure to second-hand smoke decreases head and neck cancer cisplatin chemotherapy-induced cell death and increases head and neck cancer cell viability.”
“This was concerning to discover because not only was the effectiveness of the chemotherapy cut in half, but the cells that survived were able to divide and create huge colonies of cancer cells. If the chemotherapy can’t kill all the cancer, it will come back. And it will come back sooner because the cells are dividing so quickly. In addition, we cannot simply double the amount of chemotherapy we give patients because it would be too toxic,” lead researcher Dr. Lurdes Queimado, professor of otolaryngology at OU College of Medicine, told Oklahoma University News.
The study may hopefully spark additional conversations surrounding added precautions for head and neck cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Helping You Understand Wide-ranging Impacts of Smoking
- 95% of Smokers Take Up the Habit Before Age 21: Why New York Just Joined A Growing List of States that Have Raised the Legal Smoking Age
- Cigarette Sales Increase for the First Time in 20 Years On the Heels Of Lung Cancer Awareness Month; Understand the Risk of Smoking
- Do You Need Some Motivation To Quit Smoking? Smokers Who Quit By 45 Reduce Their Excess Lung Cancer Risk by 87%, Research Shows
- Does Smoking Marijuana Cause Lung Cancer?
Smoking and Cancer Risks
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says cigarette smoking is linked to about 80 to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths, and people who smoke cigarettes are 15 to 30 times more likely to get lung cancer or die from lung cancer than people who don’t smoke. Additionally, second-hand smoke can cause lung cancer.
Smoking is, of course, the primary cause of lung cancer, but nonsmokers can and do develop this disease. Researchers have made progress in understanding the differences between lung cancer in smokers versus nonsmokers, says Dr. Ronald Natale, a medical oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and they’re developing targeted treatments that will be able to address the genetic drivers of lung cancer in nonsmokers.
“Among patients who are nonsmokers, or former very light smokers, we identify a mutation that we can target with pills in about 60% to 70% of them. That leaves 30% or so, 40%, in whom we have a target for which we do not have successful treatment,” Dr. Ronald Natale, a medical oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, tells SurvivorNet.
“Among patients who are smokers, who have more complex cancers that have hundreds, sometimes thousands of mutations, don’t have a driver mutation that we can give a pill for, which is only a tiny percentage of lifelong smokers. Chemotherapy is the primary treatment in most patients,” Dr. Natale explains further.
Michael Douglas’ Cancer Journey
In 2010, Douglas was diagnosed with stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma oral cancer. According to the National Institute of Health, oral cancer refers to those of the mouth and the back of the throat.
According to the Oral Cancer Foundation, Douglas began experiencing a persistent sore throat, prompting him to see his doctor.
Tests later revealed the all-star actor had a “tumor on the base of his tongue.”
“The surgeon said, ‘Let’s just say it’s throat cancer,’ Douglas shared with fellow actor Samuel L. Jackson, CNN reported, shortly after going public with his diagnosis.
Douglas underwent rounds of radiation and chemotherapy treatments, according to the HPV Alliance. A CNN report said the treatments lasted for “five months.”
After undergoing treatment, Douglas was declared cancer-free, according to the HPV Alliance.
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.