Dr. Angela Walter presented on neighborhood disadvantage and tobacco use among adults with cancer in the U.S. at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology [ASCO] Annual Meeting in Chicago. The results Dr. Walter presented span 10 ECOG-ACRIN trials which found that socioeconomic factors influence access and utilization of tobacco treatment. However, little is known about the relationship between neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage [NSD] and tobacco assessment, assistance, and cessation among cancer patients enrolled in clinical trials.
It has been determined that “greater socioeconomic neighborhood disadvantage is associated with increased assessment of tobacco use, but decreased tobacco treatment referral, and the shortest quit duration. More research is needed to promote increased referral to tobacco treatment for individuals with cancer from disadvantaged neighborhoods to promote and sustain cessation.”