Tobacco use outcomes among patients with lung cancer treated for nicotine dependence.
OBJECTIVE
There is a current lack of consensus about the effectiveness of nicotine dependence treatment for cancer patients. This retrospective study examined the 6-month tobacco abstinence rate among lung cancer patients treated clinically for nicotine dependence.


METHODS
A date-of-treatment matched case control design was used to compare lung cancer patients (201 lung cancer patients, 41% female) and nonlung cancer patients (201 controls, 45% female) treated in the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center between 1988 and 2000. The intervention involves a brief consultation with a nicotine dependence counselor. A treatment plan individualized to the patient's needs is then developed. The primary end point was the self-reported, 7-day point prevalence abstinence from tobacco at 6-month follow-up.


RESULTS
At baseline, compared with the controls, the lung cancer patients were significantly older (P <.001), reported higher motivation to stop smoking (P =.003), and were at a higher stage of change (P =.002). The 6-month tobacco abstinence rate was 22% for the lung cancer patients compared with 14% of the control patients (P =.024). After adjusting for age, sex, baseline cigarettes smoked per day, and stage of change, no significant difference was detected between lung cancer patients and controls on the tobacco abstinence rate.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that nicotine dependence treatment is effective for patients with a diagnosis of lung cancer. The majority of lung cancer patients were motivated to stop smoking.
Sanderson Cox
Lisa
L
Nicotine Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
Patten
Christi A
CA
Ebbert
Jon O
JO
Drews
Amanda A
AA
Croghan
Gary A
GA
Clark
Matthew M
MM
Wolter
Troy D
TD
Decker
Paul A
PA
Hurt
Richard D
RD
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016540:Smoking Cessation; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome