Does Smoking Status Affect Bladder Cancer Recurrence?
Transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder is the fifth most common human neoplasia, yet one of the more preventable diseases related to tobacco exposure. Superficial transitional cell carcinoma accounts for the majority of these cancers. The average three-year recurrence-free survival rate ranges from 35 to 70 percent. Because of the risk for recurrence, patients with this neoplasia are followed closely with repeating surveillance studies on a regular basis. Despite the fact that tobacco has been associated with this neoplasia, no studies have been formed to determine what effect smoking has on recurrence. Fleshner and associates studied recurrence rates in patients who continued to smoke, those who stopped smoking at the time of the diagnosis and those who quit before the diagnosis. The study was a retrospective cohort design. Data were collected from all patients who were diagnosed with superficial transitional bladder cell carcinoma at a major cancer center from 1985 to 1995. Patie
