9.3% of US cancer survivors are current smokers, study shows -
Nine years after diagnosis, 9.3 percent of survivors the US cancer were current smokers and 83 percent of them were daily smokers who were on average 14.7 cigarettes per day, according to a report in cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention , a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR).
"We need to keep up with cancer survivors long after their diagnosis to see if they are still smoking and offer advice, assistance and possible appropriate medications to help them quit smoking," Westmaas said Lee, PhD, director of the tobacco research at the American Cancer Society (ACS) and lead author of the study.
Roy Herbst, MD, PhD, chief of medical oncology at Yale University and president of the AACR tobacco and cancer Subcommittee, who was not involved in the study, said in an interview that the results illustrate the extent of the problem.
"smoking can lead to new mutations in cancer survivors that can lead to additional primary and secondary cancers. It can also affect physical function and interfere with the effectiveness of therapies, "said Herbst." We need to take note of this and target this population for intervention. "
In the study, researchers from the ACS analyzed data on 2938 patients nine years after their diagnosis
smoking prevalence by type of cancer :.
- bladder cancer (17.2 percent)
- lung cancer (14.9 percent)
- ovarian cancer (11.6 percent)
- melanoma (7.6 percent)
- kidney cancer (7.3 percent)
- colorectal cancer (6.8 percent)
survivors were more likely to smoke if they were younger, had less education and income, or drank more alcohol.
Approximately 40 percent of smokers said they they intended to quit in the next month, but this intention was lower among survivors who are married, older, smoked or more.
"smoking is addictive and cancer does not guarantee that you'll stop, even if the cancer was directly related to your smoking, "said Westmaas. "We must do more to intervene with these patients."
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