Smoking, e-cigarettes are associated with increased symptom burden in cancer survivors

Important points:

• Current smoking appears to be associated with increased fatigue, pain, and emotional problems, as well as decreased quality of life.
• Symptom burden was not associated with survivors’ aspirations or smoking cessation plans.

the current smoking and e-cigarettes It appears to be associated with increased symptom burden in adult cancer survivors, according to data published in . cancer.

Conversely, cancer survivors’ interest or willingness to quit was not associated with symptom burden, the researchers wrote.

“Our team found that people with a history of cancer who smoked or used e-cigarettes after diagnosis had a greater symptom burden (greater fatigue, pain, emotional problems) and reduced quality of life. We hypothesized that it would report , which was supported by our findings.” Dr. Sarah N. Price, A postdoctoral fellow in the Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s Cancer Prevention and Management Training Program, he told Helio. “What is even more surprising is that the extent to which survivors reported fatigue, pain, increased mental health problems, or worsened quality of life was independent of their desire to quit or their smoking cessation plan.”

Background and methodology

Smoking is both a major modifiable risk factor for cancer and the leading cause of preventable cancer deaths. Researchers say that people who continue to smoke after being diagnosed with cancer have a lower survival rate and are more likely to develop recurrences and second malignancies. Smoking is also associated with decreased effectiveness of cancer-targeted treatments.

Identifying potential relationships between tobacco use and symptom burden may better inform tobacco treatment interventions tailored to the needs of cancer patients, the researchers wrote.

Researchers analyzed 1,409 adult cancer survivors from the US FDA’s fifth wave. Tobacco and Health Population Assessment (PATH) Study. Using multivariate analysis of variance adjusted for age, sex, and race/ethnicity, they found that both smoking and e-cigarettes affect cancer-related symptom burden (fatigue, pain, emotional problems) and quality of life. Evaluated for potential relevance.

The researchers calculated a weighted smoking prevalence of 14.21% and 2.88% for e-cigarettes in the study population.

result

Researchers found an association between current smoking and increased fatigue (P. < .0001; partial and² = .02), pain (P. < .0001; partial and² = .08), emotional problems (P. < .0001; partial and² = .02) and quality of life worsens (P. < .0001; partial and² = .08), whereas current e-cigarette use appears to be associated with greater fatigue (P. = .001; partial and² = .008), pain (P. = .009; partial and² = .005) and emotional problems (P. = .04; partial and² = .003), but the quality of life is not bad.

Decreased interest in quitting smoking, likelihood of quitting, or probability of quitting attempts in the past year did not appear to be associated with increased cancer symptom burden.

next step

According to the researchers, it is critically important for oncology providers to assess tobacco use, provide smoking cessation support, and lead the delivery of tobacco treatment to cancer patients.

“We hope that the results of this study and others will help medical oncology clinicians talk to their patients about smoking,” Price told Helio. “Knowing that reducing smoking may alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life may be particularly compelling for cancer survivors considering changing their smoking habits. .

“Further studies, especially long-term and interventional studies, are needed to strengthen the claim that reducing or quitting smoking directly improves cancer-related symptoms,” she added. “Additionally, future studies will explore whether positioning smoking cessation as part of cancer symptom management will make it more acceptable to both patients and treating clinicians to better manage cancer symptoms. We need to investigate whether this helps survivors quit smoking.”

For more information:

Dr. Sarah N. Price, Contact information is Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC 27101, School of Social Sciences and Health Policy. Email: sarahpr@wakehealth.edu.