Tobacco use outcomes among patients with head and neck carcinoma treated for nicotine dependence: A matched-pair analysis

BACKGROUND. The current study described tobacco use outcomes among patients with head and neck carcinoma who underwent treatment for nicotine dependence at the Mayo Clinic Nicotine Dependence Center (NDC; Rochester, MN). METHODS. Using a 1:1 matched-pair design, conditional logistic regression was employed to compare the 6-month tobacco abstinence outcomes of patients with head and neck carcinoma (n = 101) with controls (n = 101) from the general patient population treated for nicotine dependence between 1988 and 2001. The two groups were matched with regard to age, gender, date of treatment, and type of NDC treatment service. RESULTS. Baseline demographics were similar between both groups. However, patients with head and neck carcinoma smoked significantly more cigarettes per day (cpd) than controls (P = 0.003). The self-reported tobacco abstinence rate at the 6-month follow-up was 33% for patients with head and neck carcinoma compared with 26% for matched controls (P = 0.279; after adjusting for baseline cpd and stage of change, P = 0.205). Among patients with head and neck carcinoma, the tobacco abstinence rates were 47%, 22%, and 19%, respectively, for those receiving an NDC consult within 3 months, between 3 months and 5 years, and > 5 years after their diagnosis (P = 0.021). Furthermore, the patients with head and neck carcinoma treated within 3 months of diagnosis who received surgery (with or without radiation therapy) were more likely to be tobacco abstinent than those who received primary radiation therapy (P = 0.042). CONCLUSIONS. These findings suggested that nicotine dependence treatments were effective among patients with head and neck carcinoma, particularly when delivered shortly after initial diagnosis and for those who received surgery as their primary treatment.