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Is cancer risk still reduced if you give up smoking in later life?

    Kristin V Carson

    * Author for correspondence

    School of Medicine, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia.

    ,
    Mark A Jurisevic

    The Clinical Practice Unit, The Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research, Adelaide, Australia

    Respiratory Medicine, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide, Australia

    &
    Brian J Smith

    The Clinical Practice Unit, The Basil Hetzel Institute for Translational Health Research, Adelaide, Australia

    Respiratory Medicine, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Adelaide, Australia

    Published Online:https://doi.org/10.2217/lmt.13.45

    SUMMARY This report summarizes the experimental and epidemiological evidence examining the ability of smoking cessation to influence cancer risk reduction in later life. Available evidence suggests that smoking cessation even in later years can significantly reduce mortality and yield risk reductions for many cancers including lung, oral, head and neck, and stomach cancer, among others. More research is necessary to accurately quantify the degree of cancer risk reduction for particular age groups and to calculate the minimum time of cessation necessary to produce a significant benefit for the patient. Smoking cessation is the only approach that has been shown to effectively reduce the risk of many cancers on a mass scale. Considering this, we recommend that healthcare providers communicate these benefits to patients at every opportunity and reinforce the notion that it is never too late to quit smoking.

    Papers of special note have been highlighted as: ▪ of interest ▪▪ of considerable interest

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