Prevalence and Correlates of Smoking and Cessation-Related Behavior among Survivors of Ten Cancers: Findings from a Nationwide Survey Nine Years after Diagnosis

Abstract

Background: Smoking is detrimental to recovery and survival from cancer, but many cancer survivors continue to smoke. Information is lacking on smoking patterns of survivors many years after diagnosis and correlates of smoking status and patterns, likelihood of quitting, and intentions to quit.Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted among survivors of 10 cancers recruited by stratified random sampling from cancer registries in a nationwide, longitudinal, quality-of-life study (n ¼ 2,938).Results: Approximately 9 years after diagnosis, 9.3% of all survivors were current (past 30-day) smokers. Smoking prevalence was highest among survivors of bladder (17.2%), lung (14.9%), and ovarian (11.6%) cancers. Most current smokers (83%) smoked daily, averaging 14.7 cigarettes per day (cpd). Forty percent of daily smokers smoked more than 15 cpd. Nondaily smokers smoked a mean of 10.9 days in the last 30 days and averaged 5.7 cpd on smoking days. Current smoking was associated with younger age, lower education and income, and greater alcohol consumption. Quitting after diagnosis was associated with having a smoking-related cancer. Roughly, a third of current smokers intended to quit, 40% within the next month. The odds of intending to quit were lower if survivors were married, older, or smoked more.Conclusions: This population-based study indicated that smoking can persist long after initial diagnosis and at high levels and identified characteristics associated with quitting and intentions to quit.Impact: Findings can be used to identify survivors most at risk for continued smoking and to inform tailoring of cessation treatments for survivors. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 23(9); 1783-92. Ó2014 AACR.

Prevalence of Major Risk Factors and Use of Screening Tests for Cancer in the United States

“…Cancer survivors who quit smoking have better health outcomes than those who do not (13). However, it is estimated that approximately 9 years after diagnosis, 1 in 10 cancer survivors reports current (past 30 day) smoking (34). There are several interventions shown to improve smokers' probability of long-term abstinence (35) that include nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) products, prescription medications other than NRT, or combinations of these medications and counseling (individual, group, or telephone; refs.…”

Smoking Cessation after Bladder Cancer Diagnosis

“…Neste trabalho obteve-se uma prevalência de tabagismo atual de 21,9%, um valor elevado e comparável com a população geral, 28 mas em linha com trabalhos publicados anteriormente, tanto para o CB, 16,22,27 como para outros cancros relacionados com o tabaco. [29][30][31] Várias explicações para este achado são avançadas por Ostroff et al 21 nomeadamente: história de elevada carga tabágica; diagnóstico maioritariamente de CB não invasivo, com potencial de cura e de sobrevivência; insuficiente reconhecimento da importância do tabaco para a génese e progressão do CB; insuficiente educação e promoção da abstinência por parte dos urologistas.…”

“…Um estudo recente com sobreviventes de 10 tipos de cancro revelou que os doentes com CB apresentavam a mais elevada prevalência de tabagismo (17,2%), uma percentagem comparável com a prevalência na população geral. 16 Assim, neste trabalho pretende-se avaliar as características do consumo tabágico em doentes com CB. Adicionalmente pretende-se estudar o grau de conhecimento dos doentes sobre o tabaco como fator de risco para o CB e descrever a atuação dos urologistas face à janela de oportunidade que o diagnóstico oncológico apresenta.…”

AACR Cancer Progress Report 2015

“…Even in the face of this knowledge, a recent study found that 9 percent of cancer survivors continued to smoke (151). Therefore, enhanced provision of cessation assistance to all patients with cancer who use tobacco or who have recently quit, and further research to improve our understanding of how best to help individuals quit smoking is urgently needed (152).…”