title: Association of smoking with tumor size at diagnosis in non-small cell lung cancer.
abstract: Tumor size at diagnosis (TSD) indirectly reflects tumor growth rate. The relationship between TSD and smoking is poorly understood. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between smoking and TSD. We reviewed 1712 newly diagnosed and previously untreated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients' electronic medical records and collected tumor characteristics. Demographic and epidemiologic characteristics were derived from questionnaires administered during personal interviews. Univariate and multivariate linear regression models were used to evaluate the relationship between TSD and smoking controlling for demographic and clinical factors. We also investigated the relationship between the rs1051730 SNP in an intron of the CHRNA3 gene (the polymorphism most significantly associated with lung cancer risk and smoking behavior) and TSD. We found a strong dose dependent relationship between TSD and smoking. Current smokers had largest and never smokers smallest TSD with former smokers having intermediate TSD. In the multivariate linear regression model, smoking status (never, former, and current), histological type (adenocarcinoma versus SqCC), and gender were significant predictors of TSD. Smoking duration and intensity may explain the gender effect in predicting TSD. We found that the variant allele of rs1051730 in CHRNA3 gene was associated with larger TSD of squamous cell carcinoma. In the multivariate linear regression model, both rs1051730 and smoking were significant predictors for the size of squamous carcinomas. We conclude that smoking is positively associated with lung tumor size at the moment of diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. cnxingchen@gmail.com
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ivan P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Gorlov
authors.forename: Kelly W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Merriman
authors.forename: Shih-Feng
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.forename: Millennia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Foy
authors.forename: Gwendolyn
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Keener
authors.forename: Christopher I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Amos
authors.forename: Margaret R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Spitz
authors.forename: Marek
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kimmel
authors.forename: Olga Y
authors.initials: OY
authors.lastname: Gorlova
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D005260:Female; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011379:Prognosis; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000235:genetics*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D012907:Smoking; D047368:Tumor Burden
chemical_list: D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic