Nicotine dependence phenotype and lung cancer risk

BACKGROUND: A behavioral phenotype that characterizes nicotine dependence, the time to first cigarette after waking, is hypothesized to increase the risk of lung cancer. METHODS: A case-control study of histologically confirmed lung cancer was conducted. The current analysis included 4775 lung cancer cases and 2835 controls who were regular cigarette smokers. RESULTS: Compared with subjects who smoked their first cigarette > 60 minutes after waking, the pack-years–adjusted odds ratio was 1.31 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.11-1.54) for subjects who smoked 31 minutes to 60 minutes after waking and 1.79 (95% CI, 1.56-2.07) for subjects who smoked within 30 minutes of waking. The risk estimates were similar when smoking was modeled as total years, smoking status (current vs former), number of cigarettes smoked per day, years since quitting, and excess odds ratio. The findings were consistent for all histologic types of lung cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of the current study indicate that a specific nicotine dependence phenotype that is associated with the amount of smoke uptake per cigarette is independently associated with lung cancer risk. These findings may help to identify high-risk individuals who would benefit from targeted interventions