Cancer survivors who drink and smoke 'have increased death risk'

Though head and neck cancers can be fatal, survival rates continue to increase, but new evidence has emerged that some people who have survived the condition may be at increased risk of death.

According to a new US study, survivors of cancer in these two regions who smoke and drink have a much higher chance of dying earlier than those who do not indulge in either habit.

The study was conducted by Dr Susan Mayne, a professor of epidemiology at the Yale Schools of Public Health and Medicine and the associate director of the Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center.

She told health cover holders that although the risk of drinking and smoking are well documented, many head and neck cancer survivors are not doing enough to reduce their risk of mortality.

"Most cancer survivors are counselled to quit smoking; despite this, many still smoke. In our study, 21 per cent continued to smoke even after their cancer diagnosis, increasing their risk of death. Similarly, we found that continued drinking increases the risk of death," the expert explained.

Dr Mayne said that survivors of head and neck cancer, which includes those of the oral cavity, pharynx and larynx, should quit smoking cigarettes and drinking alcoholic beverages in order to increase their odds of longer survival.

The study will be published in the December issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, and involved analysis of the habits of 264 recent survivors of early-stage head and neck cancer before and after cancer diagnosis.

Experts obtained detailed smoking and drinking histories through interviews to evaluate if these habits affected the risk of dying in subsequent years.

Following over four years of follow-up, 62 patients died, with Dr Mayne finding that those who continued to smoke were approximately twice as likely to die during the follow-up, with those who continued to drink after diagnosis three times as likely to die during the follow-up.

She told those with affordable health insurance: "We expected to see an adverse effect of continued smoking - I was really not sure what we would find for continued drinking. The data from our study indicated that continued drinking should be discouraged in head and neck cancer survivors. Patients need assistance with both tobacco and alcohol cessation."

Posted by Louise Jones

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