Researchers warn smoking could hurt body's fight against skin cancer

Researchers have found smoking can prevent the body from fighting skin cancer. A team from the University of Leeds say while a smoker's immune system is able to function, it is less effective.

For the study, researchers investigated data of more than 700 patients with melanoma. The results showed people who smoke are 40 percent less likely to survive the deadly disease.

Researchers hope the findings urge people to quit the habit."The immune system is like an orchestra, with multiple pieces," Professor Julia Newton-Bishop, lead author of the Cancer Research UK-funded study, told a news portal. Adding, "This research suggests that smoking might disrupt how it works together in tune, allowing the musicians to continue playing but possibly in a more disorganised way."

The study also found smokers were at increased risk of dying of melanoma. "Based on these findings, stopping smoking should be strongly recommended for people diagnosed with melanoma," said Professor Newton-Bishop. "The result is that smokers could still mount an immune response to try and destroy the melanoma, but it appears to have been less effective than in never-smokers, and smokers were less likely to survive their cancer," she further went on to explain.

Previous research has found smoking does have adverse effects on the immune system. However, scientists have yet to learn which chemicals have such an impact. "Overall, these results show that smoking could limit the chances of melanoma patients' survival so it's especially important that they are given all the support possible to give up smoking for good," Dr Julia Sharp, head of health information at Cancer Research UK, told a news portal.