Studies Examining the Importance of Smoking After Being Diagnosed With Lung Cancer

A large project consisting of: a) an observational trial where smoking status is recorded on 1400 consecutive people newly diagnosed with lung cancer. Smoking status is biologically validated with exhaled carbon monoxide (eCO) levels every 3 months. Survival, cancer progression and treatment complications will be recorded and compared in smokers, ex-smokers and never smokers.

Smoking causes around 85% of lung cancer. Continued smoking after diagnosis probably worsens survival and increases treatment complications but prospective well-designed studies are lacking. This project is an observational cohort study recording outcomes in smokers, never-smokers, and ex-smokers, using exhaled carbon monoxide to validate smoking status when they attend for further lung cancer clinics. This project is unique, as every patient with a clinical diagnosis of lung cancer will have their smoking status biologically validated by a quick and easy test, and those enrolled in the smoking cessation treatments or not will also complete a generic quality of life questionnaire at regular intervals. These appointments will coincide with other hospital appointments wherever possible, and survival status will reported up to 24 months after enrolment.