Smoking Is an Undertreated Risk Factor after Cancer Diagnosis

While many cancer centers routinely document and ask about the smoking status of their patients, baseline survey results of the Just ASK national quality improvement project, led by ACS Cancer Programs, describe the many challenges and missed opportunities these centers may face when trying to help patients quit smoking. 

The results, published in JCO Oncology Practice, represent one of the largest national surveys examining the quality of tobacco treatment in cancer care in a wide range of clinical oncology settings, including academic facilities and community cancer programs.  

“While many people understand the role of tobacco in terms of causing cancer, they may not understand the impact that tobacco use has when patients are being treated for cancer,” said Commission on Cancer (CoC) Chair Timothy W. Mullett, MD, MBA, FACS, co-author of the study. “Additionally, many providers may not think about tobacco cessation in terms of treatment. But just like there are effective treatments for high blood pressure or thyroid disease, there are effective treatments for tobacco use. That’s the disconnect we’re trying to highlight in this study.”