Misuse of Prescribed and Nonprescribed Substances Among U.S. Cancer Survivors

Substance misuse is common among cancer survivors and can negatively impact cancer outcomes.

We conducted a cross-sectional study using National Survey on Drug Use and Health data for 2015 to 2020. We included adult respondents with a history of solid tumor cancer. We calculated the weighted prevalence and corresponding SEs (both expressed as percentages) of substance (alcohol, opioid, sedative, stimulant, other) misuse for respondents with any history of solid tumor cancer and, in secondary analyses, respondents diagnosed with cancer in the prior 12 months.

The study included 6,101 respondents with any history of cancer, 1,437 diagnosed in the prior 12 months. Alcohol was the most commonly misused substance. The average prevalence of alcohol misuse was 14.4% (SE 0.60%) across cancer types; it was markedly more common among people with a history or cervical (24.2% [3.0%]) or head and neck cancer (27.4% [7.1%]). The next most common form of substance misuse was opioid misuse (average prevalence: 2.7% [0.25%]). As with alcohol misuse, the prevalence of opioid misuse was higher among those with a lifetime history of cervical cancer (5% [1%]) or head and neck cancer (5% [3%]). Results were generally consistent among cancer survivors diagnosed in the prior 12 months.

There is a clear opportunity to address substance misuse-particularly alcohol misuse-among cancer survivors. Such efforts should focus on populations with a high prevalence of substance misuse (e.g., cervical and head and neck cancer survivors) and have strong potential to improve cancer-specific and overall health outcomes.