Lung cancer patients who stop smoking before or after their diagnosis showed significant health benefits.
Using data from Tobacco Assessment and Cessation Service (TACS), 250 patients participated in the study. Those who had recently stopped smoking (50 patients), or quit after their first contact with TACS (71 patients) had reduced mortality rates compared to patients who continued to use tobacco.
The median survival for patients who reported they had stopped smoking was 28 months compared with 18 months for those who continued to use tobacco. The survival advantage for those who stopped smoking was adjusted for demographics, disease stage and other health characteristics.
“To our knowledge, this is one of the first studies to examine the impact of tobacco cessation on survival among lung cancer patients who participated in a mandatory assessment and automatic referral to a tobacco cessation service,” says senior author Mary Reid, MSPH, PhD, Director of Cancer Screening and Survivorship at Roswell Park.
