Cigarette smoking, tumor recurrence, and survival from bladder cancer.

Results are presented from an investigation into the effects of cigarette smoking on tumor recurrence and survival in a group of 302 patients with bladder cancer. A regression analysis using Cox's proportional hazards model was done to evaluate the effect of cigarette smoking status, stage of disease at diagnosis, histology, race, sex, and the patient's age at diagnosis on length of survival. Results showed that younger patients, those with less extensive disease, and those with transitional cell tumors showed the best survival. Cigarette smoking was unrelated to survival. The effects of cigarette smoking on tumor recurrence were examined in patients with localized disease. Smoking status was not associated with either recurrence-free survival or the number of tumor recurrences. These findings suggest that cigarette smoking is not an important prognostic factor for patients with bladder cancer.