In a study reported as a research letter in JAMA Oncology, Caturegli et al attempted to identify smoking status of patients diagnosed with cancer in the United States in 2023.
Study Details
In the cross-sectional study, the smoking status of patients diagnosed with cancer in 2023 was collected by certified oncology data specialists at hospitals accredited by the Commission on Cancer and added to the National Cancer Database (NCDB).
Key Findings
Among the 1,596,789 patients diagnosed with cancer in 2023 collected by the NCDB, smoking status was ascertained for 1,546,747 (96.8%). Mean patient age was 65.18 (±13.60) years; 844,263 patients (55%) were female.
Overall, 47.3% of patients had a smoking history, including 14.7% who were currently smoking, at the time of their diagnosis. The proportions of patients with smoking history varied by cancer type, with the highest proportion observed for lung cancer (84.5%) and the lowest for thyroid cancer (29.8%).
Overall, 70.5% of Asian patients, 63.8% of Hispanic patients, 51.4% of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander patients, 51.1% of Black patients, 46.7% of White patients, and 42.6% of American Indian/Alaskan Native patients with cancer never smoked.
Current smoking status rates at time of cancer diagnosis varied by sex, age, and race—eg, 18.9% of Black patients vs 15.2% of White patients had current smoking status at the time of cancer diagnosis. Current smoking status at diagnosis also varied by socioeconomic characteristics—eg, 22.1% vs 9.7% in the lowest vs the highest household income quartile (P < .001).
The investigators stated: “Smoking status was successfully added to the NCDB for over 96% of patients diagnosed with cancer in 2023. Moving forward, the availability of smoking history should enhance the medical community’s ability to learn from the NCDB, as tobacco smoking may affect patient treatment and outcomes and provides a critical adjustment opportunity. For example, lung cancers occurring in patients who never smoked are far more likely to contain driver mutations that are responsive to targeted therapies.”
Daniel J. Boffa, MD, MBA, Section of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Yale School of Medicine, is the corresponding author for the JAMA Oncology article.
Disclosures: For full disclosures of all study authors, visit jamanetwork.com.
