Lung cancer diagnosed: proven benefits of quitting smoking

A prospective cohort study[1] found that quitting smoking after being diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer can slow the progression of the disease and reduce mortality.

Currently, more than 80% of patients with non-small cell lung cancer have a history of active smoking, and about half are still smoking at the time of diagnosis. Furthermore, many patients (and some caregivers) believe that it is too late to quit once diagnosed.

Researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the World Health Organization's cancer agency, followed 517 adult smokers from the time of their diagnosis of lung cancer (early stages of non-small cell cancer) to determine whether quitting smoking after diagnosis affects disease progression and mortality. Participants were interviewed at the start of the study about their medical history, smoking, and lifestyle, and then followed up annually from 2007 to 2016, for an average of 7 years of follow-up per patient, to record any changes in their smoking behavior, treatments, and disease progression.

Quitting smoking early in the disease reduces mortality

Following diagnosis, approximately 45% of patients who were still smokers quit, of whom very few relapsed. Smoking cessation was associated with both a 33 TP3T reduction in the risk of all-cause mortality and also an increase in median survival of 22 months (6.6 years vs 4.8 years) and a 5-year survival of 54 % compared to that of 44% in patients who did not quit smoking.

This improvement in survival by stopping smoking is all the more important as numerous studies have shown that stopping smoking also improves the quality of life of patients with this type of cancer.

Lung cancer, the deadliest cancer in the world

In 2020, lung cancer remained the leading cause of cancer death worldwide with approximately 1.8 million deaths.[2]. It is possible to drastically reduce this mortality since lung cancer is largely preventable with nearly 9 out of 10 cases directly linked to tobacco consumption and passive smoking. Overall, the risk for a smoker of developing lung cancer during his lifetime is 22 times higher than that of a non-smoker.

Keywords: Lung cancer, mortality, withdrawal©Tobacco Free Generation

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[1] Sheikh M, Mukeriya A, Shangina O, Brennan P, Zaridze D. Postdiagnosis Smoking Cessation and Reduced Risk for Lung Cancer Progression and Mortality: A Prospective Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. 2021 Jul 27. doi: 10.7326/M21-0252. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34310171.[2] Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Laversanne M, Soerjomataram I, Jemal A, Bray F. Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2021 Feb https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21660.National Committee Against Smoking |