This article is from the WebMD Medical News Archive

Nov. 28, 2005 -- It's never too late to benefit from quitting smoking, even after a cancer diagnosis, scientists report in the journal Cancer.

Ellen Gritz, PhD, and colleagues reviewed past research on cancer patients who do (and don't) quit smoking after learning they have cancer.

Their bottom line: The sooner smoking stops, the better, for cancer patients (and everyone else).

Gritz works in the behavioral sciences department of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Good News for Quitters

Gritz' team found "encouraging" results in the few studies of quit-smoking programs for cancer patients.

They write that cancer patients who quit smoking and don't start again after cancer diagnosis and treatment "are likely to reap substantial physical and psychological benefits, including improved quality of life and prolonged survival."

By quitting smoking, cancer patients may inspire their relatives to do the same, the researchers add.

They call cancer diagnosis a "teachable moment" -- a time when doctors should stress the health benefits of not smoking and help their patients become smoke-free.

Downside for Smokers

As for cancer patients who remained smokers, the review showed four negative trends:

• Poorer overall survival
• Poorer quality of life
• Possible drop in effectiveness of cancer treatments (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation)
• Higher risk of developing another tumor

The more daily cigarettes cancer patients smoked, the lower their quality of life tended to be, the researchers report.

Smoking doesn't just raise the odds of many cancers. It can also make heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and other health problemsother health problems more likely.

Quitting Smoking During Cancer

Gritz' team suggests these extra steps for quit-smoking programs for cancer patients:

• Stress the risks of continuing to smoke.
• Consider the patient's emotions and willingness to quit smoking.
• Make adjustments for cancer treatments. For instance, patients with oral cancers may fare better with nicotine replacement patches than with gums, sprays, inhalers, or lozenges.
• Focus on the period after cancer treatments end. Patients may be more likely to relapse then as they resume their old lifestyles.

"Interventions to prevent relapse and promote sustained abstinence [from smoking] are particularly important as patients heal," write Gritz and colleagues.

SOURCES: Gritz, E. Cancer, Jan. 1, 2006; vol 106. WebMD Feature: "10 Overlooked Reasons to Quit Smoking." News release, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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