Incorporating a Smoking Cessation Intervention into Lung Cancer Screening Programs: Preliminary Studies

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Public Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Lung cancer screening identifies individuals at high risk, presenting an opportunity for smoking cessation interventions.
• Smoking remains a primary risk factor for lung cancer and other chronic diseases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility and potential efficacy of telephone counseling (TC) as a smoking cessation intervention integrated into lung cancer screening programs.
• To assess participant engagement and quit rates in older smokers receiving TC post-screening.

Main Methods:

• Two preliminary studies were conducted: a pilot intervention with seven older smokers and four focus groups with 16 current and former older smokers.
• The intervention involved three TC sessions incorporating lung screening results as motivation, with high participation and retention rates.
• Focus groups explored participants' beliefs about abnormal scans and interest in TC.

Main Results:

• High participation (87.5%) and retention (85.7%) rates were observed in the TC intervention group.
• Four out of seven smokers (57.1%) successfully quit smoking, with three of these individuals receiving abnormal screening results.
• Focus group participants expressed that abnormal scans would motivate them to quit and showed interest in TC.

Conclusions:

• Telephone counseling (TC) appears to be a feasible and potentially effective smoking cessation intervention within lung cancer screening settings.
• Integrating TC into lung cancer screening programs may leverage abnormal findings to motivate smoking cessation in older adults.
• Further research is warranted to confirm the efficacy of TC in this population.