Association of cigarette smoking habits with the risk of prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Xiangwei Yang; Hong Chen; Shiqiang Zhang; Xianju Chen; Yiyu Sheng; Jun Pang

doi:10.1186/s12889-023-16085-w

Association of cigarette smoking habits with the risk of prostate cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMC Public Health. 2023 Jun 15;23(1):1150. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16085-w.

Authors

Xiangwei Yang^#¹, Hong Chen^#², Shiqiang Zhang¹, Xianju Chen¹, Yiyu Sheng¹, Jun Pang³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Urology, Kidney and Urology Center, Pelvic Floor Disorders Center, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No.628 Zhenyuan Road, Shenzhen, 518107, China.
² School of Nursing, LKS Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
³ Department of Urology, Kidney and Urology Center, Pelvic Floor Disorders Center, The Seventh Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No.628 Zhenyuan Road, Shenzhen, 518107, China. pangjun2@mail.sysu.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Background: Association of cigarette smoking habits with the risk of prostate cancer is still a matter of debate. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the association between cigarette smoking and prostate cancer risk.

Methods: We conducted a systematic search on PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science without language or time restrictions on June 11, 2022. Literature search and study screening were performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses statement. Prospective cohort studies that assessed the association between cigarette smoking habits and the risk of prostate cancer were included. Quality assessment was conducted using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We used random-effects models to obtain pooled estimates and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals.

Results: A total of 7296 publications were screened, of which 44 cohort studies were identified for qualitative analysis; 39 articles comprising 3 296 398 participants and 130 924 cases were selected for further meta-analysis. Current smoking had a significantly reduced risk of prostate cancer (RR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.68-0.80; P < 0.001), especially in studies completed in the prostate-specific antigen screening era. Compared to former smokers, current smokers had a significant lower risk of PCa (RR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.65-0.75; P < 0.001). Ever smoking showed no association with prostate cancer risk in overall analyses (RR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.93-1.00; P = 0.074), but an increased risk of prostate cancer in the pre-prostate-specific antigen screening era (RR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.00-1.10; P = 0.046) and a lower risk of prostate cancer in the prostate-specific antigen screening era (RR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.91-0.99; P = 0.011) were observed. Former smoking did not show any association with the risk of prostate cancer.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that the lower risk of prostate cancer in smokers can probably be attributed to their poor adherence to cancer screening and the occurrence of deadly smoking-related diseases, and we should take measures to help smokers to be more compliant with early cancer screening and to quit smoking.

Trial registration: This study was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022326464).

Keywords: Cigarette smoking; Meta-analysis; Prostate cancer; Risk; Systematic review.

Publication types

Meta-Analysis
Systematic Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Cigarette Smoking*
Habits
Humans
Male
Prospective Studies
Prostate-Specific Antigen
Prostatic Neoplasms* / epidemiology
Prostatic Neoplasms* / etiology
Smoking / adverse effects
Smoking / epidemiology

Substances

Prostate-Specific Antigen