Tobacco-use Cessation Counseling Service Usage

Tobacco-use is common among elderly lung cancer patients and continued tobacco-use can impact prognosis. This study evaluates patterns of receipt of Tobacco-use Cessation Counseling (TCC) services among these patients.

Using West Virginia Cancer Registry-Medicare linked database (2004-2007), we identified elderly patients with lung cancer (n = 922) and categorized them by receipt of TCC services. Hierarchical generalized logistic model was constructed and survival outcomes were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier analysis, Log-Rank test, and Cox proportional hazards modeling.

Majority of patients (76.7%) received TCC services. Unadjusted analysis showed favorable survival outcomes in patients who received TCC services. However, adjusted lung cancer mortality risk was no different between the groups (HR (95% CI) = 1.78 (0.87-3.64)).

This study highlights the critical need to address disparities in receipt of TCC services among elderly. Although lung cancer preventive services are covered under the Medicare program, underutilization of these services is a concern.