Published in conjunction with the World Cancer Congress in Hong Kong, a comprehensive evidence synthesis released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer demonstrates that smoking cessation after a cancer diagnosis significantly improves patient survival and reduces the risk of disease progression. The report, presented at the congress, addresses the persistent misconception that stopping smoking is no longer beneficial once a cancer diagnosis has been established. In Morocco, tracheal, bronchus, and lung cancers accounted for 18.5 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021, compared to 32.7 per 100,000 among men, while the WHO estimated the standardized prevalence of tobacco use among people aged 15 and older at 13 percent in 2022.
Evidence from Lung and Kidney Cancer Studies
The synthesis incorporates findings from studies conducted over more than a decade by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in collaboration with the N.N. Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology in Moscow. These investigations followed patients with lung or kidney cancer who smoked at the time of their diagnosis.
According to the data, patients who successfully quit smoking lived longer and experienced a lower risk of mortality and disease progression. Il n’est jamais trop tard pour arrêter de fumer. Même après un diagnostic de cancer avancé, l’arrêt peut apporter des bénéfices cliniques significatifs,
stated Dr. Mahdi Sheikh, the report’s lead author, as cited by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization. The research showed that risk reductions reached up to 55 percent compared to patients who continued to smoke, with patients exhibiting a progression-free survival duration superior by approximately two years. These positive outcomes extended to a wide range of malignancies, encompassing both cancers strongly associated with smoking, such as lung cancer, and those less linked to tobacco, such as kidney cancer.
Integrating Cessation Into Oncological Care
Despite these documented benefits, the report notes that many patients who smoke at the time of diagnosis continue throughout their care due to the belief that the damage is irreversible. To combat this, the agency emphasizes that governments should provide sustainable funding for tobacco cessation within oncology services. Furthermore, the organization recommends guaranteeing access to subsidized or free pharmacological cessation treatments, integrating tobacco dependence treatment into national oncology guidelines, and ensuring oncologists receive training in smoking cessation. An analysis conducted from the perspective of the British National Health Service evaluated the cost-effectiveness of care provided immediately upon cancer diagnosis, estimating the additional costs per quality-adjusted life year gained between 2,606 pounds sterling for lung cancer and 5,495 pounds for head and neck cancers—amounts falling below the 20,000-pound threshold typically used as a reference for acceptable cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, directly integrating cessation management into care pathways yielded an estimated net monetary benefit compared to simple external referral of 1,543 pounds per lung cancer patient and 5,362 pounds per kidney cancer patient.
