In a nutshell
The study evaluated how smoking habits affect the predicted treatment outcomes in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) under intense chemotherapy. The authors found that smoking status was related to poor overall survival in such patients.
Some background
Patient-related factors such as lifestyle choice and additional medical conditions predict the risk of treatment-related complications in AML. Smoking is a lifestyle choice that is related to 40% higher risks of AML. Intensive chemotherapy involves higher doses of drugs to achieve complete remission (CR). CR means the disappearance of clinical cancer signs and symptoms. Studies on whether smoking status can predict treatment decisions and outcomes in such patients are lacking.
Methods & findings
The study analyzed records of 1040 Danish patients with AML. They all underwent intensive chemotherapy. Treatment included cytarabine (Cytosar-U) in combination with daunorubicin (Cerubidin) or idarubicin (Idamycin) or mitoxantrone (Novantrone). 602 (58.9%) patients were ever-smokers and smoked at some point in their lives. Among them, 36.2% were current and 21.7% were former smokers. The rest of the patients were never-smokers. Patients were followed up for 3.5 years on average.
Overall, patients survived for 18.7 months on average. Never-smokers had an average overall survival (OS) of 24.5 months. OS for ever-smokers was lower (17.2 months on average). OS was not related to body fat or the presence of multiple medical conditions.
The bottom line
The study concluded that smoking status was an important predictor of outcomes in patients with AML under intense chemotherapy.
The fine print
This study was performed on Danish patients only. It was unable to discover how exactly current smoking affects OS.
Published By :
British Journal of Haematology
Date :
Apr 21, 2020
