PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Many doctors do not provide tobacco cessation assistance to lung cancer patients

Survey results from IASLC Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee

2013-03-28
(Press-News.org) DENVER – Physicians who care for lung cancer patients recognize the importance of tobacco cessation, but often do not provide cessation assistance to their patients according to a recent study published in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO).

An online survey was conducted in 2012 by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee. The survey asked IASLC members about their practices, perceptions and barriers to tobacco assessment and cessation in cancer patients. More than 1,500 IASLC members responded and more than 90 percent of the physician respondents believe that active current smoking affects treatment outcomes and that tobacco cessation should be a standard part of clinical care. However, only 39 percent of respondents said they routinely provided smoking cessation assistance. In addition, the study found that physicians believed that patients would be resistant to tobacco cessation treatment and many do not feel adequately prepared to deliver effective tobacco cessation support to their cancer patients.

"This is the largest assessment of tobacco assessment, cessation, and perceptions of tobacco use by physicians who treat cancer patients," says Dr. Graham Warren, vice chair for research in Radiation Oncology at the Medical University of South Carolina and lead author on the study. "Tobacco use affects outcomes for virtually all cancer patients by increasing mortality, treatment complications, and other adverse health outcomes such as heart disease. Stopping tobacco use may be the most important activity a cancer patient can do to improve their chances of successful cancer treatment. As clinicians and researchers, we must work to improve access to tobacco cessation resources and improve effective methods of tobacco cessation for cancer patients."

The study represents a large collaborative effort led by Warren and several investigators at IASLC, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, the Medical University of South Carolina, Yale University and MD Anderson Cancer Center. "The fact that several institutions worked together to assess physician practice is a very positive step," says Dr. Ellen R. Gritz, chair of the department of Behavioral Science at MD Anderson Cancer Center and member of the Institute of Medicine, who was a co-author on the study. "Hopefully, we can continue to make progress by bringing experts in diverse fields together and increase our ability to address adverse health behaviors, such as tobacco use, in cancer patients."

"The IASLC has significantly advanced our understanding of clinician behavior regarding tobacco use by cancer patients," says Dr. Alex Adjei, senior vice president for clinical research at Roswell Park Cancer Institute and Editor in Chief of JTO.

"Clearly there is a need to increase tobacco cessation assistance for cancer patients," says Dr. Carolyn Dresler, member of the IASLC Board of Directors and the Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee. "This study really helps us better understand the barriers to implementing tobacco cessation and gives us a target to improve cessation support." INFORMATION:

The lead author of this work is IASLC Member Dr. Graham Warren. Co-authors include IASLC members Michael Cummings, Benjamin Toll, Dr. Ellen Gritz, Dr. Roy Herbst, Dr. Carolyn Dresler on behalf of the IASLC Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee.

About the IASLC:

The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) is the only global organization dedicated to the study of lung cancer. Founded in 1974, the association's membership includes more than 3,500 lung cancer specialists in 80 countries. To learn more about IASLC please visit http://www.iaslc.org.



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Look out squirrels: Leopards are new backyard wildlife

2013-03-28
NEW YORK (March 28, 2013) — A new study led by WCS-India scientist Vidya Athreaya finds that certain landscapes of western India completely devoid of wilderness and with high human populations are crawling with a different kind of backyard wildlife: leopards. The study found as many as five adult large carnivores, including leopards and striped hyenas, per 100 square kilometers (38 square miles), a density never before reported in a human-dominated landscape. The study, called "Big Cats in Our Backyards," appeared in the March 6 edition of the journal PLoS One. ...

Children of deployed parents at higher risk for alcohol, drug use

2013-03-28
In 2010, almost 2 million American children had at least one parent in active military duty. A new University of Iowa study suggests that deployment of a parent puts these children at an increased risk for drinking alcohol and using drugs. Using data from a statewide survey of sixth-, eighth-, and 11th-grade students in Iowa, the researchers found an increase in 30-day alcohol use, binge drinking, using marijuana and other illegal drugs, and misusing prescription drugs among children of deployed or recently returned military parents compared to children in non-military ...

Combinations of estrogen-mimicking chemicals found to strongly distort hormone action

2013-03-28
For years, scientists have been concerned about chemicals in the environment that mimic the estrogens found in the body. In study after study, researchers have found links between these "xenoestrogens" and such problems as decreased sperm viability, ovarian dysfunction, neurodevelopmental deficits and obesity. But experimental limitations have prevented them from exploring one of the most serious questions posed by exposure to xenoestrogens: what happens when — as in the real world — an individual is exposed to multiple estrogen-mimicking chemicals at the same time? Now ...

UCLA study finds heart failure medications highly cost-effective

2013-03-28
A UCLA study shows that heart failure medications recommended by national guidelines are highly cost effective in saving lives and may also provide savings to the health care system. Heart failure, a chronic, progressive disease, affects millions of individuals and results in considerable morbidity, the use of extensive health care resources, and substantial costs. Currently published online, the study will also appear in the April 2 print issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers studied the incremental health and cost benefits of ...

Penn researchers show stem cell fate depends on 'grip'

2013-03-28
The field of regenerative medicine holds great promise, propelled by greater understanding of how stem cells differentiate themselves into many of the body's different cell types. But clinical applications in the field have been slow to materialize, partially owing to difficulties in replicating the conditions these cells naturally experience. A team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvania has generated new insight on how a stem cell's environment influences what type of cell a stem cell will become. They have shown that whether human mesenchymal stem cells ...

Obesity leads to decreased physical activity over time

2013-03-28
Physical activity and its relation to obesity has been studied for decades by researchers; however, almost no one has studied the reverse – obesity's effect on physical activity. So BYU exercise science professor Larry Tucker decided to look at the other side of the equation to determine if obesity leads to less activity. The findings, no surprise, confirmed what everyone has assumed for years. "Most people talk about it as if it's a cycle," Tucker said, senior-author on a study appearing online ahead of print in the journal Obesity. "Half of the cycle has been studied ...

Mindfulness from meditation associated with lower stress hormone

2013-03-28
Focusing on the present rather than letting the mind drift may help to lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol, suggests new research from the Shamatha Project at the University of California, Davis. The ability to focus mental resources on immediate experience is an aspect of mindfulness, which can be improved by meditation training. "This is the first study to show a direct relation between resting cortisol and scores on any type of mindfulness scale," said Tonya Jacobs, a postdoctoral researcher at the UC Davis Center for Mind and Brain and first author of a ...

Home hot water temperatures remain a burn hazard for young and elderly

2013-03-28
Home hot water heater temperatures are too high, warns a team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Despite the adoption of voluntary standards by manufacturers to preset hot water heater temperature settings below the recommended safety standard of 120°F, temperatures remain dangerously high for a significant proportion of homes, presenting a scald hazard for young children and the elderly. The report is published in the March 2013 issue of Journal Of Burn Care Research. In the U.S., tap water burns cause an estimated 1,500 hospital ...

New American Chemical Society video explores the chemistry of egg dyeing

2013-03-28
With millions of eggs about to have their annual encounter with red, green, blue and other dyes this holiday weekend, the American Chemical Society (ACS) today released a new video that will egg people on in discovering the chemistry that underpins the process. The video is at http://www.BytesizeScience.com. Produced by the ACS Office of Public Affairs, The Chemistry of Egg Dyeing features Diane Bunce, Ph.D., professor of chemistry at The Catholic University of America. Bunce explains, for instance, why vinegar is so important for eggshells to take up dye. Eggshells ...

Expanding Medicaid in Pennsylvania would increase federal revenue to the state, study finds

2013-03-28
Expanding Medicaid in Pennsylvania under the Affordable Care Act would boost federal revenue to the state by more than $2 billion annually and provide 340,000 residents with health insurance, according to a new RAND Corporation study. The increased federal spending on health care in Pennsylvania would provide a $3 billion boost in economic activity and sustain more than 35,000 jobs, according to the analysis. But the expansion of Medicaid would not be without cost. Expanding Medicaid would require an additional $53 million in state spending in 2014, with the cost rising ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Pink skies

Monkeys are world’s best yodellers - new research

Key differences between visual- and memory-led Alzheimer’s discovered

% weight loss targets in obesity management – is this the wrong objective?

An app can change how you see yourself at work

NYC speed cameras take six months to change driver behavior, effects vary by neighborhood, new study reveals

New research shows that propaganda is on the rise in China

Even the richest Americans face shorter lifespans than their European counterparts, study finds

Novel genes linked to rare childhood diarrhea

New computer model reveals how Bronze Age Scandinavians could have crossed the sea

Novel point-of-care technology delivers accurate HIV results in minutes

Researchers reveal key brain differences to explain why Ritalin helps improve focus in some more than others

Study finds nearly five-fold increase in hospitalizations for common cause of stroke

Study reveals how alcohol abuse damages cognition

Medicinal cannabis is linked to long-term benefits in health-related quality of life

Microplastics detected in cat placentas and fetuses during early pregnancy

Ancient amphibians as big as alligators died in mass mortality event in Triassic Wyoming

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

Study links teen girls’ screen time to sleep disruptions and depression

Scientists unveil starfish-inspired wearable tech for heart monitoring

Footprints reveal prehistoric Scottish lagoons were stomping grounds for giant Jurassic dinosaurs

AI effectively predicts dementia risk in American Indian/Alaska Native elders

First guideline on newborn screening for cystic fibrosis calls for changes in practice to improve outcomes

Existing international law can help secure peace and security in outer space, study shows

Pinning down the process of West Nile virus transmission

UTA-backed research tackles health challenges across ages

In pancreatic cancer, a race against time

Targeting FGFR2 may prevent or delay some KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancers

[Press-News.org] Many doctors do not provide tobacco cessation assistance to lung cancer patients
Survey results from IASLC Tobacco Control and Smoking Cessation Committee