Smoking affects prognosis after lung cancer surgery

Purpose To study the effects of smoking on the postoperative outcome of lung cancer surgery. Methods The subjects were 571 patients who underwent surgery for primary lung cancer. The patients were divided into the following groups according to their smoking history: a nonsmoker group (n = 218), a former smoker group (n = 140), and a current smoker group (n = 213). Results The 5-year survival rates were 56.2%, 40.9%, and 34.0% in the nonsmoker, former smoker, and current smoker groups, respectively. These differences were significant. According to a multivariable analysis, smoking was a significant factor affecting the postoperative prognosis of patients undergoing surgery for lung cancer. In analyzing the causes of death, there were more deaths caused by other diseases such as multiple organ cancer, respiratory disorder, cardiovascular disease, and surgery-related events in the former smoker and current smoker groups than in the nonsmoker group. Conclusions Smoking was significantly predictive of a poor prognosis after lung cancer surgery.