Abstract
Purpose This study was conducted to address change in smoking behavior of cancer patients when admitted to a cancer center, and elucidate factors associated with long-term smoking abstinence after discharge.
Methods The subjects were 97 patients with stomach cancer and 93 with head and neck cancer (cancer in the oral cavity, pharynx and/or larynx that did not require total laryngectomy) who were current smokers at the time of first visit to a cancer center. In order to obtain detailed information on their smoking behavior, a self-administered questionnaire was mailed to each patient at least 18 months after the patient was discharged. Seventy-three percent (138/190) of the subjects returned the completed questionnaire by mail.
Results The smoking cessation rates at five different time points, namely, 1) one day before admission, 2) the first day of admission, 3) the last day of admission, 4) one day after discharge, and 5) at the time the patient received the questionnaire, indicating long-term smoking abstinence after discharge, were 10.4%, 32.6%, 71.9%, 40.0% and 51.0%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that patients who had stopped smoking by the first day of admission had a significantly higher probability of long-term smoking abstinence than their counterparts who smoked up to the last day of admission. The patients who received doctors' and/or nurses' advice for smoking cessation at our medical center did not have significantly higher probability of long-term smoking abstinence than those who did not receive it.
Conclusion With patients suffering from stomach or head and neck cancer admitted to a cancer center, multivariate analysis indicated that smoking behavior in the pre-admission period influences long-term smoking abstinence after discharge.
