Study Calculates Costs Associated With Smoking in Cancer Patients

A study published today in JAMA Network open now reported that smoking after a cancer diagnosis was badociated with substantial additional costs related to cancer treatment.

Graham Warren, a researcher at Hollings Cancer Center, says the study establishes a model for estimating the economic burden of smoking on cancer treatment, information that can be useful to patients and health care providers alike .

"These data estimate that smoking could result in an additional $ 3.4 billion in cancer treatment costs nationally if patients continue to smoke after being diagnosed with cancer," said Warren, senior author of the study, professor and vice president of research in radiation oncology at Medical. University of South Carolina (MUSC).

"We know that continuing to smoke can lead to poor results in cancer patients." The 2014 Surgeon General's report concluded that continuing to smoke after being diagnosed with cancer increases the risk of dying from cancer. and other diseases related to smoking.This is really the first time the economic burden of smoking on cancer treatment has been estimated. "

The authors badyzed how smoking decreased the effectiveness of cancer treatment and estimated the cost of treating recurrences caused by smoking.

Michael Cummings, Ph.D., co-author of the study, described the results as "very profound". Cummings, a member of the Hollings Cancer Center Cancer Control Program and co-director of the MUSC Tobacco Control Research, says it has been known for years that smoking in the general population increases the costs of bad cancer care. health because it causes many diseases.

"With the rising costs of cancer treatment, we really wanted to understand the economic impact for cancer patients."

The study shows that maintaining smoking increases the risk of failure of cancer treatment and that the average additional costs of cancer treatment can reach $ 11,000 for each patient. Warren says these estimates are most likely conservative. "The study only focused on the cost of additional treatment for cancer, but did not include the cost of smoking side effects, such as increased toxicity for cancer treatment." or the treatment of other smoking-related diseases, such as heart disease, stroke and other be caused by the continuation of smoking. "

Kathleen Cartmell, Ph.D., co-author of the study and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Nursing at MUSC, says the study lays out important foundations for knowing the financial scale of the study. impact of smoking on cancer treatment. "We are now better prepared to approach patients, service providers and health systems to develop approaches to avoid these costs."

This is not an easy task, especially as the future of health care is moving more towards value-based medicine, which provides the best care at the lowest cost. A commentary on Warren's study in JAMA Network open now published today, "this study provides a tool to represent the economic consequences of a known clinical phenomenon and show that continuing to smoke during cancer treatment harms the health of patients, but also creates a financial burden for patients, clinicians and the health care system as a whole. "

Warren says the study did not explain how smoking cessation would impact the cost, but smoking cessation, even after a cancer diagnosis, is currently the best method that health providers need to try to prevent the harmful effects of smoking on the treatment of cancer.

"The best decision that a cancer patient can take is to quit smoking." The next step is to mobilize resources to identify the best therapeutic approach for all cancer patients, including patients with cancer. including those who smoke after being diagnosed with cancer. "

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has also recognized the importance of stopping smoking by developing smoking cessation programs at 42 NCI designated cancer centers nationwide.

The director of the Hollings Cancer Center, Gustavo Leone, said the center's cancer control program was among the most advanced experts in the field of advances in the field. Hollings is a cancer center designated by the NCI and the only one in the state.

"Our patients need our help," says Leone. "We have a specific smoking cessation program at MUSC to help patients quit.Many Hollings researchers have expertise in smoking cessation and are studying the effects of smoking on health and well-being. the effectiveness of cancer treatment can have the best results. "