Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Jan;15(1):52-8.
doi: 10.1093/ntr/nts083. Epub 2012 Apr 11.

Tobacco use treatment at the U.S. National Cancer Institute's designated Cancer Centers

Adam O Goldstein  1 , Carol E Ripley-Moffitt, Donald E Pathman, Katharine M Patsakham
Affiliations

Tobacco use treatment at the U.S. National Cancer Institute's designated Cancer Centers

Adam O Goldstein et al. Nicotine Tob Res. 2013 Jan.

Abstract

Introduction: Tobacco use is a leading cause of cancer, and continued use after cancer diagnosis puts patients at greater risk for adverse health outcomes, including increased risk for cancer recurrence. This study surveyed National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated Cancer Centers to assess the availability of tobacco use treatment (TUT) services.

Methods: Directors and oncology providers of 58 NCI-designated Cancer Centers received invitations to participate in an online survey. The questionnaire asked about attitudes, awareness, policies, and practices related to TUT; barriers to treatment provision; and factors likely to increase services.

Results: All 58 Cancer Centers participated. Twelve (20.7%) Centers reported no TUT services for their patients. Of the remainder, 34 (58.6%) reported a TUT program within their Center and 12 (20.7%) reported external TUT services in their health care system or affiliated university. Only 62% of Centers reported routinely providing tobacco education materials to patients, just over half reported effective identification of patient tobacco use, and less than half reported an employee dedicated to providing TUT services or a clear commitment to providing TUT services from Center leadership. The 34 centers with internal TUT programs reported significantly greater services and administration support for TUT Services.

Conclusions: These data demonstrate a national need for Cancer Centers to embrace and incorporate recommended standards for TUT. Tying TUT services to NCI recognition and providing stable funding for TUT services in Cancer Centers could lead to better health outcomes, treatment efficacy, and satisfaction for all U.S. Cancer Centers and their patients.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Percent of Centers reporting policies and programs to support tobacco use treatment (n = 58).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Percent of Centers reporting components of adopting and implementing recommended TUT (n = 58).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Factors perceived “likely” or “very likely” to improve tobacco use treatment services at Cancer Centers (n = 58).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bradley EH, Holmboe ES, Mattera JA, Roumanis SA, Radford MJ, Krumholz HM. A qualitative study of increasing beta-blocker use after myocardial infarction: Why do some hospitals succeed? Journal of the American Medical Association. 2001;285:2604–2611. doi: 10.1001/jama.285.20.2604. - PubMed
    1. Cooley ME, Emmons KM, Haddad R, Wang Q, Posner M, Bueno R, et al. Patient-reported receipt of and interest in smoking-cessation interventions after a diagnosis of cancer. Cancer. 2011;117:2961–2969. doi:10.1002/cncr.25828. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Do KA, Johnson MM, Lee JJ, Wu XF, Dong Q, Hong WK, et al. Longitudinal study of smoking patterns in relation to the development of smoking-related secondary primary tumors in patients with upper aerodigestive tract malignancies. Cancer. 2004;101:2837–2842. doi:10.1002/cncr.20714. - PubMed
    1. Fiore MC, Jaen CR, Baker TB, Bailey WC, Benowitz NL, Curry SJ, et al. Treating tobacco use and dependence. 2008 update. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Public Health Service; 2008. May 2008.
    1. Fleshner N, Garland J, Moadel A, Herr H, Ostroff J, Trambert R, et al. Influence of smoking status on the disease-related outcomes of patients with tobacco-associated superficial transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder. Cancer. 1999;86:2337–2345. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-0142(19991201)86:11<2337::AID-CNCR23>3.0.CO; 2–6. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms