Meta-analysis confirms benefit of quitting smoking at lung cancer diagnosis
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medwireNews: Quitting smoking around the time of receiving a lung cancer diagnosis is associated with significantly improved overall survival (OS) than continuing smoking, shows a meta-analysis published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology.
Pooled analysis of data on more than 10,000 participants of 21 studies published in 1980–2021 showed a significant 29% reduction in the risk for death for those who did versus did not quit smoking at or around the time of diagnosis.
The findings were consistent for non-small-cell and small-cell lung cancer patients, with smoking cessation linked to a significant decrease in mortality risk of 23% and 25%, respectively.
Saverio Caini (Institute for Cancer Research, Prevention and Clinical Network, Florence, Italy) and colleagues note that “[t]here was substantial variability across studies in terms of design, patients’ characteristics, treatments received, criteria used to define smoking status (quitters/continued), and duration of follow-up.”
But they believe the findings are “robust enough to conclude with the recommendation that inviting patients to quit smoking at diagnosis or during treatment or follow-up encounters, and giving them all the support necessary to succeed in their attempts to quit and remain abstinent during and after therapy, should arguably become a non-optional part of the management of these patients, given the potentially large gain in survival that can ensue.”
medwireNews is an independent medical news service provided by Springer Healthcare Ltd. © 2022 Springer Healthcare Ltd, part of the Springer Nature Group
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