Objective
To determine risk factors for continued smoking following a diagnosis of a genitourinary
(GU) malignancy. Smoking is a well established risk factor in the development of cancers
involving the GU tract. Unfortunately, a large percentage of patients continue to
smoke or relapse after cancer diagnosis; by doing so, there is an increased risk of
recurrence, poor survival rates, treatment complications, secondary primary cancers,
and other chronic smoking related illnesses.
Materials and Methods
Two hundred and five patients who presented to a Urologic Oncology clinic at a single
tertiary treatment center were given smoking cessation counseling and pharmacotherapy,
as well as a questionnaire which was used to identify smoking status, demographics,
and behavioral/psychosocial characteristics. Patients were followed for a minimum
of 1 year with a median length of follow up for 13 months.
Results
91% of patients enrolled in the study continued smoking at survey completion. After
accounting for age, ethnicity, education and cigarettes consumed/day, 5 variables
were independently associated with an increased risk of continued smoking: smoking
20 or more cigarettes per day, less than 2 prior quit attempts, anxiety and/or depression,
fear of cancer recurrence, and home secondhand smoke exposure.
Conclusion
The role of the urologist is imperative for encouraging smoking cessation. While every
patient should receive adequate counseling regarding smoking at the time of a GU malignancy
diagnosis, identifying patients with the risk factors noted in this study and augmenting
smoking cessation efforts may result in stronger efforts to quit and prevention of
long-term complications.
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: July 10, 2020
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© 2020 Published by Elsevier Inc.
