Bladder cancer survivors who do not smoke enjoy better life quality

Among patients with bladder cancer (BC), those who do not smoke appear to have better longitudinal health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measures, particularly in the domains of physical function, emotional function, and fatigue, according to a recent study.

Some 154 patients with BC participated in this study, of whom 18 percent had a smoking history at 3 months from diagnosis, with packs per day ranging from <0.5 to 2.

BC patients who did not smoke had significantly better mean differences for physical function (7.4), emotional function (5.6), and fatigue measures (‒8.2) when controlling for time from diagnosis, demographic covariates, cancer stage, and treatment type.

“These results underscore the need to treat smoking as an essential component of BC care,” the authors said.

The data used in this analysis were obtained from a prospective, longitudinal study open between 2014 and 2017, which assessed HRQoL in patients aged ≥18 years diagnosed with BC across North Carolina, US. The authors administered the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire core instrument (QLQ-C30) at 3, 12, and 24 months after BC diagnosis.

Current smoking status served as the primary exposure of interest. The association between smoking status and various domains of the QLQ-C30 was analysed via linear regression using generalized estimating equations.

“Cigarette smoking is the most common risk factor for the development of BC, yet there is a paucity of data characterizing the relationship between smoking status and longitudinal HRQoL outcomes in patients with BC,” the authors said.