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Temple Physician Presents Cancer Research Findings at 5th Annual World Cancer Congress

Curtis Miyamoto, MD, Professor and Chair of Radiation Oncology at Temple, traveled to China recently to present a study that found cancer patients who are older, male, or have cancers unrelated to smoking experience greater success in smoking cessation programs than patients who are younger, female, or have been diagnosed with smoking-related cancers. Dr. Miyamoto, a co-author of the study, discussed his findings during a lecture at the Beijing Institute of Technology's 5th Annual World Cancer Congress.

In the study, Dr. Miyamoto and three researchers from the University of Pennsylvania analyzed data from an earlier study of 246 cancer patients in 12-week smoking cessation programs to identify patient characteristics associated with success in smoking cessation.

The researchers found 29.2% of male patients remained smoke-free at the conclusion of the programs versus only 21% of females. The average age of smoke free patients was 60.2 years versus 54.8 years among smokers. Only 16.7% of patients with smoking-related cancers (head and neck cancers or lung cancers) remained smoke-free at the conclusion of the programs versus 29.9% of patients with other cancers.

Quitting smoking carries major implications for cancer patients. Risk of mortality in cases of breast, esophageal, prostate, cervical, and bladder cancer has been shown to increase significantly for patients who smoke after their cancer diagnosis. For patients with bladder, breast, and colorectal cancer, smoking is associated with increased risk of cancer recurrence and the development of additional tumors. Given these stakes, Dr. Miyamoto said future research should evaluate the effectiveness of weighing age, gender, and cancer type of patients in the design of smoking cessation programs.

"In the end, we're trying to help people put down their cigarettes, not only because of the long-term effects but because of the more immediate risks of smoking to these patients," said Dr. Miyamoto. "It appears age, sex, and cancer type may be appropriate to consider due to their association with success for patients in smoking cessation programs."

For more information or to make an appointment with a Temple Cancer Center physician, call 1-800-TEMPLE-MED (1-800-836-7536).

Date Published: Wednesday, August 15, 2012

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