Effects of Smoking Cessation on lung cancer chemotherapy.

Introduction Smoking cessation has proved beneficial for most population, for the prevention of diseases such as coronary disease, COPD and lung cancer. The current review article examines the effects of smoking cessation on the toxicity, the quality of life and the overall survival of patients who are undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Material and Methods Included patients were either never smokers or smokers both with a confirmed diagnosis of small cell or non-small cell lung cancer. The last group of patients was further separated into two subcategories, those who stopped and those who continued smoking during chemotherapy. One hundred and twenty three (123) consecutive, unselected patients met the criteria. Results Patients that quit smoking at diagnosis had a higher average life span. Patients who did not cease smoking, the majority of them did not receive radiotherapy. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference between the need for hospitalization of smokers (95.7 %) versus those who quit (45.2 %). Furthermore, comparing patients that smoked either before or during the treatment, there was a statistically significant difference between survival rates of patients that continued smoking (10 months) and the ones that ceased prior to chemotherapy (11 months) while the non-smokers had a 13-month survival. Conclusions Smoking cessation leads to better quality of life, longer overall survival and less toxicity from chemotherapy treatment. Lung cancer patients that smoke must attend quitting smoking session organized by specialists.