Lung Cancer Screening and Smoking Cessation: A Teachable Moment?
Mené au Canada à partir de données portant sur 15 489 fumeurs ayant participé entre 2002 et 2009 à un programme national de dépistage du cancer du poumon, cet essai évalue l'association entre les résultats de l'examen de dépistage et l'évolution de la prévalence du tabagisme chez les participants
Kicking the smoking habit is difficult. Although 68.8% of current adult smokers report a desire to quit and approximately 44% report attempting to stop in the last year, successful smoking cessation for more than 6 months occurs among only 4% to 7% of smokers without an intervention program (1). In a motivated population, a rigorous smoking cessation intervention with nicotine replacement therapy can have high rates (30%) of success, whereas 6-month cessation rates were halved (14%–16%) among those less motivated (2,3). Successful quitting usually requires multiple attempts, and most relapses occur within the first 90 days (4,5). The health benefits of smoking cessation are well documented and reach well beyond reducing lung cancer risk.
The US Preventive Services Task Force recently recommended annual screening for lung cancer using low-dose computed tomography (CT) in a population at high risk for lung cancer. Although questions remain as to the long-term net benefits of annual low-dose CT screening (8), finding an anomaly on a chest CT may initiate a conversation between a provider and his/her patient that reinforces the desire to quit smoking (ie, a teachable moment), leading to greater cessation success. Investigators have found some …
Journal of the National Cancer Institute , éditorial, 2014