FRIDAY, Nov. 1, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Smokers diagnosed with cancer often shrug and keep lighting up, figuring a few more butts won’t make much difference.

They’re very mistaken, a new study finds.

Smokers are 22% to 26% less likely to die if they quit following a cancer diagnosis, researchers found.

The best outcomes occurred in patients who quit within six months of their cancer diagnosis and remained off the butts for at least three months, researchers reported Oct. 31 in the journal JAMA Oncology.

"While smoking cessation is widely promoted across cancer centers for cancer prevention, it remains under-addressed by many oncologists in their routine care," said principal investigator Paul Cinciripini, chair of behavioral science and executive director of the Tobacco Research and Treatment Program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

"Our research underscores the critical role of early smoking cessation as a key clinical intervention for patients undergoing cancer treatment,” Cinciripini added in an MD Anderson news release.

For the study, researchers followed more than 4,500 smokers who had been diagnosed with cancer and were in a quit smoking program at MD Anderson. Nearly all of the quit support was provided via telemedicine.

Cancer patients who successfully abstained from smoking had an average survival of four years, compared with two years for those who couldn’t quit, results show.

“This is a call to action for experts, regulatory bodies and institutions to prioritize smoking cessation as an integral part of first-line cancer care," Cinciripini said. 

Quitting smoking can translate to a better quality of life and a longer life for those who can stay away from tobacco, Cinciripini said.

“The earlier the engagement in tobacco cessation treatment, the greater impact on a patient’s lifespan,” he said.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more on quitting smoking.

SOURCE: University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, news release, Oct. 31, 2024