The melanoma is a skin cancer rare. It represents 10% of cases, but it can be very serious if it is not diagnosed in time, as indicated on the Health Insurance website. It develops from cells called melanocytes that make melanin, the skin-coloring pigment. It appears mainly due to exposure to ultraviolet rays, especially from sunlight. However, if early care of this type of skin cancer would reduce the risks, certain habits harmful to health such as smoking could increase the risk of death following melanoma.
This is what observed a study published on February 6, 2024 in the journal JAMA Network Openseeking to establish a link between smoking and the chances of survival of patients with cutaneous melanoma without lymph node invasion. To do this, scientists studied more than 6,000 patients with melanoma, of whom 17.2% were current smokers, 27% former smokers and 55.9% had never smoked.
Melanoma: heavy smokers have a doubled risk of death linked to this skin cancer
At the end of the study, the researchers determined that smoking was associated with a 48% higher risk of melanoma-associated death compared to someone who has never smoked. According to scientists, the risks also change with the importance of smoking. If in smokers consuming less than 10 cigarettes per day, they did not observe an increased risk, the latter gradually increases in those smoking between 10 and 19 cigarettes per day, and even more in smokers of 20 cigarettes per day, who see their risk of death from melanoma double, compared to non-smokers.
Researchers have not identified the exact reasons for this association, but they explain thatthere are many potential mechanisms promoting tumor metastasis and worsening survival in smoking patients suffering from melanoma. Indeed, they point out that smoking has numerous effects on the skin and that it notably reduces skin blood flow, causes endothelial damage and promotes a procoagulant state. They also cite the results of numerous studies showing the multiple pro-cancer effects of nicotine on tumor cells.
Smoking and melanoma: results that encourage stopping smoking at the time of diagnosis
The study scientists insist that they found only one association, and that their work to date does not make it possible to prove the existence of a cause and effect relationship between smoking and deaths associated with melanoma. Nevertheless, they encourage continued research and argue that “As smoking can be considered a risk factor for disease progression, increased vigilance in the management of smoking patients may be justified.“. So they suggest that “it seems prudent to recommend to patients with melanoma to stop smoking au moment du diagnostic“.
Sources :
- Smoking Status and Survival in Patients With Early-Stage Primary Cutaneous Melanoma – JAMA Network Open – 6 février 2024
- Melanoma of the skin: definition and contributing factors – Ameli.fr
- Tobacco: what are the risks? – Ameli.fr
