Smoking cessation after lung cancer diagnosis improves disease prognosis

Abstract: The presented clinical and epidemiological study is the world»s first large prospective study of the effect of smoking cessation after lung cancer (LC) diagnosis on the prognosis. Follow‑up of 517 patients with NSCLC for 7 years in average showed that continued smoking after diagnosis is a serious negative prognostic factor. At the same time smoking cessation improves OS and PFS by 22,6 months and specific cancer mortality by 22,8 months; reduces the risk of all‑cause mortality by 33 %, the risk of progression by 30 % and the risk of specific cancer mortality by 25 %. Almost 60 % of patients in our study continued smoking after diagnosis. Consequently, they had avoidable excess mortality which eventually reduced their life by 2 years.

The positive effect of smoking cessation after diagnosis found in our study significantly exceeds the «meaningful benefit» (improvement in median overall survival by 2,5–6 months) for antineoplastic agents proposed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Moreover, the study suggests that the benefits of smoking cessation after LC diagnosis are at least equal or superior to the significant results obtained in clinical studies of the effectiveness of innovative treatments.

We hope that the results of our study will contribute to the inclusion of smoking cessation in clinical guidelines for the treatment of NSCLC and other cancers. The treatment program for cancer patients should include evidence‑based methods of smoking cessation presented in the form of «Clinical Guidelines for Smoking Cessation for Cancer Patients».

Treating smoking in cancer patients is cost‑effective for the health care system, especially when compared to other treat‑ments. Conversely, continuing smoking after diagnosis significantly increases treatment costs.

The introduction of recommendations on smoking cessation and treatment of nicotine addiction into the practice will improve the overall mortality rate by 30–35 % in more than 60,000 patients annually diagnosed with lung cancer in Russia. The clinical value of this method is obvious, since it has been proven to be highly efficient in improving the life expectancy of patients, and, ultimately, in reducing cancer mortality in Russia.

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