[Tobacco-associated cancer : More than just lung cancer]

Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of cancer and cancer deaths. Tobacco use is not only related to lung cancer, but has an impact on a wide range of different cancer entities in almost every organ system.

The aim of this review article is to shed light on the different organ systems involved in tobacco-associated carcinogenesis.

For this purpose, first a brief introduction into the topic is given, followed by a detailed description of the different tumor entities associated with tobacco use.

Tobacco consumption has been clearly implicated in the causation of many types of cancer, affecting multiple organ systems. Based on current evidence, tobacco use can cause cancer of the mouth and throat, larynx, esophagus, stomach, kidney, pancreas, liver, bladder, cervix, colon and rectum, and acute myeloid leukemia.

Tobacco use is not only main cause in the development of lung cancer, but has a major impact in the development of cancer in other organ systems. Therefore, special attention must be given to possible concomitant malignancies when evaluating images of smokers.