Quitting Tobacco After Cancer Cuts Death Risk by Up to 55 Percent, ACTREC Highlights
Quitting tobacco after a cancer diagnosis can reduce the risk of death and disease progression by up to 55%, according to findings highlighted on October 1, 2026, by the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC), Tata Memorial Centre, based in Kharghar, Mumbai.
The findings were published in the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Evidence Summary Brief No. 8, released on September 23. IARC conducted the long-term observational work in collaboration with the N.N. Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology in Moscow to assess how stopping tobacco affects survival outcomes.
In a study of 517 lung cancer patients, individuals who quit smoking after their diagnosis lived nearly two years longer and experienced approximately a one-third lower risk of death than those who continued to smoke. Medical researchers found this survival benefit occurred irrespective of the cancer stage or the volume of tobacco previously consumed.
A separate study involving 212 kidney cancer patients revealed similar positive outcomes. Patients who stopped smoking had roughly half the risk of death and reduced their risk of cancer progression by more than half compared to those who continued smoking.
The findings carry significant weight for India, where 26.7 crore adults, or 28.6% of the adult population, used tobacco according to the 2016-17 Global Adult Tobacco Survey-2. While a large share of Indian users consume smokeless products like khaini, gutka, mawa, and paan, the IARC studies focused primarily on smokers, leaving a lack of comparable long-term data for smokeless tobacco cessation.
ACTREC noted it is conducting long-term research to address this evidence gap. The Kharghar-based facility operates a dedicated Tobacco Cessation Clinic at its Preventive Oncology OPD and hosts the National Tobacco Quitline Services centre for Maharashtra, Goa, and Gujarat.
“Helping a patient give up tobacco is as much a part of treatment as surgery, radiation or chemotherapy,” said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, Director of ACTREC. The institute has recommended that healthcare providers record tobacco use during every visit, refer patients to cessation services, provide withdrawal support, and strengthen research into smokeless tobacco.
