Smoking cessation in long-term survivors of germ cell tumour

Abstract

Long-term survivors of germ cell tumours (GCT) are at increased risk of cardiovascular morbidity. We investigated the use of tobacco in patients after therapy for GCT. Four hundred and seventy-four patients treated between 1979 and 2000 at the University of Munich were asked to complete a self-report questionnaire on psychosocial dimensions which included items on tobacco smoking before and after treatment of GCT. Three hundred and forty-one patients (72%) returned a completed questionnaire. The median follow-up period was 9.6 years. 160 of 341 patients (47%) reported to smoke at the time of GCT diagnosis. Of those, 134 (84%) had changed their smoking behavior with 32 patients (20%) having reduced, 56 (35%) having intermittently quitted and 46 (29%) having definitively quitted smoking. Patients reduced or stopped smoking irrespective of tumour histology, tumour stage, whether they had received chemotherapy or not, and irrespective of the number of chemotherapy courses applied. Most patients changed their habit of tobacco smoking after diagnosis and treatment of GCT but only a minority of patients are sustained quitters. Patients with GCT should be strongly encouraged to stop smoking or to participate in smoking cessation programs.