Faculty Bibliography

BACKGROUND:The growth in e-cigarette use may be driven by the perception that they are a safer, healthier alternative to conventional cigarettes. However, their long-term health implications are not well known and use is discouraged by most cancer societies. It is currently unclear how cancer survivors perceive the risks associated with e-cigarette and how this may influence use in this population. METHODS:A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) (Years 2017-2019). Our primary study outcome was the perception of harm associated with e-cigarettes compared to traditional cigarettes among adults with and without a self-reported history of cancer. We used logistic regression analyses assessing the association of a cancer history with the perception that e-cigarettes are as much or more harmful than cigarettes. RESULTS:A total of 11,846 respondents (weighted population estimate 243,728,483) were included. Of these, 26.6% reported a history of cancer. The proportion of cancer survivors who perceived e-cigarettes to be as much or more harmful than conventional cigarettes was similar to non-cancer respondents (70.6% vs 68.3%, P = 0.35). There was no difference in perception of harm among cancer and non-cancer respondents, adjusted for sociodemographic factors (OR 0.82, 95% CI 0.6-1.1). Past (OR 9.06, 95% Cl 5.06-16.20) and never e-cigarette use (OR 23.40, 95% Cl 13.56-40.38) as well as having a history of cardiopulmonary disease (OR 1.28, 95% Cl 1.05-1.56) was associated with higher odds of perceiving e-cigarettes to be as much or more harmful. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Cancer survivors commonly perceive e-cigarettes to be as much or more harmful than traditional cigarettes though these findings are similar to perceptions among adults without a history of cancer. There is a strong association with avoidance of e-cigarette products among those who perceive them to be harmful.

Smoking is a causal or contributory factor for nearly all genitourinary cancers and exerts significant influence on treatment, quality of life, and survival outcomes. In order to understand the influence smoking has on the outcomes of contemporary therapies, pertinent smoking-related data must be systematically collected and report. We sought to determine how often and how rigorously smoking status is collected and reported in publications of clinical trials in genitourinary cancers by conducting a systematic review. Our initial search yielded 622 articles, 354 of which met criteria. The vast majority of included studies (91.8%) did not report any details about trial participants' smoking status. When included, 96.3% of studies reported baseline status qualitatively. No studies used a validated measurement instrument or reported change in participants' smoking status over the study period. Absence of the collection and reporting of smoking-related data precludes further study of how smoking impacts outcomes and highlights an important deficiency in GU oncology clinical trial design.

OBJECTIVE:To describe attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs related to smoking and smoking cessation among survivors of genitourinary cancers using a theory-based framework. METHODS:We performed a cross-sectional analysis of Wave III of the PATH study, a prospective cohort survey study assessing tobacco-use patterns and attitudes among a representative population-based sample of US adults. All adult current smokers with a history of urologic cancer were included. Primary outcomes were mapped to components of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and included: attempts to quit, readiness to quit, plan to quit, being told to quit, peers views toward smoking, regret about smoking, the perceived relationship between smoking and cancer/overall health. Secondary outcomes include: time to first cigarette, utilization of smoking cessation aids. Population weighted percentages with 95% confidence intervals were estimated. RESULTS:Our cohort represents a population estimate of 461,182 adult current smokers with a history of genitourinary cancer. The majority of respondents (90%) perceived smoking to be harmful to one's health and 83% were regretful about having started smoking. An equal proportion of respondents indicated that they were "very ready to quit," "somewhat ready to quit," or "not ready to quit." Among all respondents, 73% had been told by a physician to quit in the past year but only 7% indicated that they had used prescription medication and only 21% had used nicotine replacement therapy to help with smoking cessation. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:There is significant variation in attitudes, behaviors, and perceptions related to smoking and smoking cessation among survivors of genitourinary malignancy. Patient-level smoking cessation interventions may need to be highly personalized for optimal success.

Tobacco use is the cause of several urologic cancers. Persistent use after diagnosis is associated with worse cancer-specific, quality of life, and overall mortality outcomes. Cigarette smoking remains the most common form of tobacco use despite significant population-level decline over the past few decades. The burden of smoking-related urologic disease is under appreciated by urologists and patients which has resulted in gaps in clinical care and limitations to research progress. We sought to summarize evidence-based practices and guideline recommendations for assessing and reporting tobacco use in the clinical and research settings. With a focus on smoking, our two primary goals are: 1) to promote the adoption of standardized and validated measures of tobacco use and 2) to highlight evidence-based strategies for urologists to use in clinical practice.

OBJECTIVE:To assess the prevalence and correlates of successful smoking cessation in bladder cancer survivors. MATERIALS AND METHODS/METHODS:A population-based sample of bladder cancer survivors diagnosed over a 3 year period was obtained from the California Cancer Registry. Respondents completed a survey about their tobacco use and attempts at smoking cessation. Contingency tables and logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate for correlates of successful smoking cessation. RESULTS:Of total survey respondents, 19% (151 of 790) were active smokers at bladder cancer diagnosis and made up our analytic cohort. The majority of included respondents were male, older than 60, and had smoked for >40 years prior to diagnosis. After diagnosis, 76% (115 of 151) of active smokers made a quit attempt and 56% (65 of 115) were successful. Success with smoking cessation was more frequent among those who attempted to quit around the time of initial bladder cancer diagnosis. The majority (66%) of successful quitters did so "cold turkey" without pharmacotherapy or behavioral therapy. After adjustment for demographic and tobacco-related factors, quit attempts specifically motivated by the bladder cancer diagnosis were highly associated with smoking cessation success (OR 11.6; 95% CI 3.73-35.8). Use of pharmacologic or behavioral therapies in the quit attempt were not significantly associated with successful smoking cessation. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Our data underscore the importance of motivation, timing, and the role of the urologist in the quit attempts of bladder cancer survivors. Emphasis should be placed on ensuring the newly diagnosed make a timely quit attempt informed by the causal role of smoking in their malignancy.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:Smoking cessation after a urological cancer diagnosis significantly benefits patients. It is not well known how often patients quit after diagnosis or how urologists intervene to support patients' smoking cessation efforts. We examined rates of smoking cessation after diagnosis among patients with urological cancers, and assessed how often patients are given advice and support to quit smoking in the urology setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS/METHODS:Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic review was conducted of the available studies on smoking cessation after a urological cancer diagnosis during April 2020 by a trained medical librarian using the MEDLINE®, PsycInfo®, Embase® and Cochrane Central databases. Studies were included based on 3 independent reviews and if they met a priori inclusion/exclusion criteria. In total, 2,568 records were identified, 31 of which were included for final analysis. RESULTS:Four studies (587 patients) reported outcomes related to the prospective implementation of a smoking cessation program with patient-level quit rates ranging from 3.2% to 47.3%. A total of 21 studies (3,669 patients) reported outcomes of passive (no directed, active intervention) smoking cessation after the diagnosis of a urological cancer with widely varying quit rates. In general, the quality of included studies was poor. There was no standardization of the measurement or timing of outcomes, and few studies included validated survey instruments or biochemical confirmation of cessation. A total of 17 studies included data on whether patients received advice to quit smoking after diagnosis. The proportion of patients in each study who were told to quit ranged from 2.8% to 78.3%. CONCLUSIONS:There are few smoking cessation interventions that have been prospectively implemented and reported in the urology literature, and studies on quit rates after diagnosis are limited. The paucity of quality data and lack of smoking cessation interventions being used in routine urological oncology care underscores the need for more rigorous study and implementation of evidence-based practices in this area.