Impact of smoking status on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in cancer survivors

IntroductionThe Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) often declines among cancer survivors due to many factors. Some cancer patients who smoke before the cancer diagnosis continue this harmful habit, potentially contributing to a more significant decline in their HRQoL. Therefore, this study investigates the association between smoking status and HRQoL in cancer survivors.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study utilizing self-reported cancer history from 39,578 participants of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) database, leveraging 2016 and 2020 year questionaries. A multidimensional composite outcome was created to assess HRQoL, integrating four distinct dimensions - general health, mental health, physical health, and activity limitations. After accounting for the complex survey design, logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between smoking status and poor HRQoL, adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic, and health-related confounders.ResultsOur study found that, after adjusting for potential confounders, current smokers exhibited a significantly poorer HRQoL than never smokers (OR 1.65, 95%CI 1.40-1.93). Furthermore, former smokers showed a poorer HRQoL than never smokers; however, this association was not as strong as current smokers (OR 1.22, 95%CI 1.09-1.38).ConclusionOur findings highlight the adverse association of smoking with poor HRQoL in cancer survivors, underscoring the importance of healthcare professionals prioritizing smoking cessation and providing tailored interventions to support this goal

Impact of COVID-19 on the time to counseling and treatment of prostate cancer

AbstractPurpose This study investigates how the COVID-19 pandemic (CP) impacted the timeline between initial diagnosis (ID) of prostate carcinoma and subsequent therapy consultation (TC) or radical prostatectomy (RP) due to the implementation of a “minimal contact concept,” which postponed clinical examinations until the day of admission.Methods We analyzed patient data from a tertiary care center from 2018 to September 2021. The focus was on comparing the time intervals from ID to TC and from ID to RP before and during the CP.Results Of 12,255 patients, 6,073 (61.6%) were treated before and 3,791 (38.4%) during the CP. The median time from ID to TC reduced from 37 days (IQR: 21 – 58d) pre-CP to 32 days (IQR: 20 – 50d) during CP (p < 0.001). Similarly, the time from ID to RP decreased from 98 days (IQR: 70 – 141d) to 75 days (IQR: 55 – 108d; p < 0.001) during the CP. There was a significant decrease in low-risk tumor cases at ID (18.9% vs. 21.4%; p = 0.003) and post-RP (4% vs. 6.7%; p < 0.001) during the CP.Conclusion Our findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic facilitated more timely treatment of prostate cancer, suggesting potential benefits for both low-risk and aggressive tumor management through expedited clinical procedures