Smoking behavior in women with locally advanced cervical carcinoma: a Gynecologic Oncology Group study

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess cigarette use and environmental smoke exposure in women with cervical cancer. Study Design: Smoking behavior was recorded prospectively in a clinical trial of women with locally advanced cervical carcinoma. Results: Of 315 participants, 133 women (42%) were current smokers; 72 women (23%) were former smokers, and 110 women (35%) were never smokers. Current smokers began smoking earlier (16 vs 18 years; P = .009), for more years (29 vs 24 years; P = .005), and in greater amounts (20 vs 11 cigarettes/d; P < .001) than former smokers. Active smokers lived more often with another smoker (63.3%), compared with former smokers (35.0%; P < .001) or never-smokers (28.7%; P < .001). Agreement between self-report and urine cotinine level was high (kappa = 0.872; P < .001). A significant decrease in cotinine level during treatment occurred in 5.2% of current smokers. Conclusion: Prevalence of smoking and tobacco consumption was twice that of the North American female population. Few smokers quit or decreased consumption during treatment.