MILAN - Quitting smoking extends life, even after a diagnosis of lung cancer.
This is demonstrated by a study published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology, which states that lung cancer patients who stop smoking after diagnosis have a 29% improvement in overall survival compared to patients who continue to smoke.
The study was conceived and conducted by an entirely Italian team of researchers from the Institute for Cancer Research, Prevention and Clinical Network in Florence and the European Institute of Oncology (Ieo) in Milan.
This is a meta-analysis of data published in the scientific literature up to October 2021 on smoking cessation after lung cancer diagnosis.
Globally, 21 articles were analyzed providing data on more than 10,000 patients.
The researchers note that there is a biological explanation for these data: tobacco smoke promotes tumor growth, progression and dissemination;
decreases efficacy and tolerance to radiotherapy and systemic therapy, and increases the risk of postoperative complications and second primary cancers.
"Our study suggests that treating physicians should communicate to patients the benefits of quitting smoking", - comments Saverio Caini of the Institute for Cancer Research in Florence, first author of the study.
"We know that 9 out of 10 lung cancers are caused by cigarette smoking - says Sara Gandini, head of the Ieo Molecular and Pharmacological Epidemiology Unit, co-author of the work - and we know that if intercepted in time they can be cured with little treatments. invasive, but what is needed now is a public health program, coupled with structured smoking cessation initiatives. "
(HANDLE).