Many cancer patients continue to smoke
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Many people with cancer continue to smoke after their diagnosis, even though smoking can significantly compromise the outcome of treatment, according to a new study.
In a review of past research, the study authors found that even with the help of smoking cessation therapies, cancer patients often continued to smoke or fell back into the habit. Though smokers who get help quitting appear more likely to succeed, studies have found wide variation in success rates.
In one study of lung cancer patients, for example, 40 percent of those who went through an educational-type therapy were abstinent 6 weeks later. A similar study found a success rate of only 21 percent.
On the other hand, another trial found that “strong advice” about quitting from doctors seemed effective—with 70 percent of cancer patients staying abstinent for a year.
The findings, according to the researchers, show that smoking cessation therapy can help cancer patients, but more work is needed to figure out which therapies are best.
Dr. Ellen R. Gritz of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston led the study, which is published in the medical journal Cancer.
According to the researchers, there is ample evidence that quitting smoking after a cancer diagnosis has important benefits, regardless of whether the cancer is smoking-related.
Smoking can dampen the effectiveness and worsen the side effects of cancer therapies, including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. Studies have consistently found that patients who smoke have poorer survival rates, and a higher risk of cancer recurrence.
Research has also shown that cancer patients who stop smoking have a better quality of life, including better physical functioning and emotional well-being, according to Gritz and her colleagues.
However, the researchers found, only a few studies have tested smoking cessation therapies on cancer patients. And the evidence suggests that healthcare providers aren’t doing enough to encourage cancer patients to quit.
“Despite the importance of stopping smoking for all cancer patients,” Gritz’s team writes, “the diagnosis of cancer is underused as a teachable moment for smoking cessation.”
There are, the researchers point out, special considerations when a cancer patient wants to quit smoking. Therapies include behavioral and educational techniques, nicotine gums and patches, and other drug treatments. Some tumors and cancer therapies can limit those options, and certain other components of quitting - such as exercise and diet changes—may not be feasible for some patients, Gritz and her colleagues note.
On top of that, smokers with cancer may also be dealing with emotional problems, such as depression, anxiety and guilt, which can make quitting even more difficult.
The researchers call for more studies into the effectiveness of various cessation therapies for cancer patients, including those with tumors unrelated to smoking.
SOURCE: Cancer, January 1, 2006.
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