Effect of smoking on pathological grade and stage in clinically low-risk patients

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the potential effect of smoking on pathological staging in clinically low-risk patients.
Subjects and methods: Data of 59 patients who were diagnosed with a bladder tumor for the first time and had a single lesion radiologically and endoscopically smaller than 3 cm were investigated, retrospectively. A total of 33 patients who currently smoke or smoked were classified as Group I and 26 patients who did not ever smoke were classified as Group II. Pathological diagnoses of the patients in both groups were compared.
Results: A total of 9 patients (27.3%) in Group I and 18 patients (69.2%) in Group II had Ta disease (p < 0.05). Moreover, 19 patients (57.6%) in Group I and 5 patients (19.2%) in Group II had stage T1 disease (p < 0.05). The number of patients with low grade (LG) tumor were 8 (24.2%) and 19 (73.1%) in Group I and in Group II, respectively (p < 0.05). The number of patients with high grade (HG) tumor were 25 (75.8%) and 7 (26.9%) in Group I and in Group II, respectively (p < 0.05). Ta high grade (TaHG) was detected in 9 (27.3%) patients in Group I. In contrast, no patients in Group II had Ta HG disease (p < 0.05). The number of patients with T1 high grade (T1HG) was 17 (51.5%) in Group I and 2 (7.69%) in Group II (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Smoking seems to associate with pathologically worse stage and grade in patients with primary, single, <3 cm bladder cancer.