• A new study found that 56 percent of people living with lung cancer continued smoking after undergoing surgery for the condition.
• The median survival rate was nearly a year shorter for those who continued smoking after surgery.
• Researchers called on health care providers to work with people with lung cancer to stop smoking to improve their outcomes.

In the United States, 80 percent to 90 percent of lung cancer deaths are directly linked to smoking, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A new study in Chest Journal found that, one year after undergoing lung cancer surgery, 56.5 percent of participants continued to smoke, resulting in overall lower survival rates. Researchers noted that health care providers can help people with lung cancer live longer by providing guidance and treatments to stop smoking.

Smoking After Lung Cancer Surgery Reduces Survival Rates

For the study, surgery resident Dr. Brendan Heiden and his team from Washington University School of Medicine analyzed the health records of 7,536 veterans living with stage 1 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). All of them had received surgery for lung cancer between 2006 and 2016. Of those, 68.2 percent were smoking when they were diagnosed.

A year after surgery, the study found that 56.5 percent of individuals who smoked at the time of diagnosis continued to smoke regularly. Persistent smoking after surgery was associated with a worse median overall survival rate: 73.1 months for those who continued smoking versus 84.7 months for those who stopped. Researchers did not see an increased rate of relapses (return of lung cancer symptoms) between those who had stopped smoking and those who continued.

Between diagnosis and surgery, 11.3 percent of participants had stopped smoking. Those who did were more likely to not smoke one year after surgery. Another recent study found that people who stop smoking after a lung cancer diagnosis tend to live longer.

Dr. Heiden’s study found some other factors associated with a higher likelihood of post-surgery smoking including higher body mass index (BMI) and a longer wait time between diagnosis and surgical treatment.

More Guidance and Medical Interventions Could Help Cut Smoking Rates

The study found only 15 percent to 25 percent of participants had been prescribed aids to help them quit smoking. Smoking cessation aids include patches, vapor cigarettes, and other pharmaceutical interventions designed to curb nicotine cravings. The low number of prescriptions suggested to the team that perhaps doctors had stopped trying to help people quit smoking, Dr. Heiden told MedPage Today.

Routine smoking causes an array of illnesses — including cancer, heart disease, and diabetes — and reduces overall chances of survival after lung cancer diagnosis and treatment. In order to increase survival rates after diagnosis, health care teams should aggressively counsel patients with lung cancer to stop smoking, researchers concluded. “Despite overall poor survival prospects for ex-smokers with lung cancer, it’s incumbent on clinicians to inform them that quitting increases their chances,” Dr. Heiden told MedPage Today.