Do Smokers Need to Quit Before Lung Cancer Surgery?
A recent study indicates that lung cancer patients who smoke before surgery face higher pulmonary complication risks but not increased short-term mortality. The analysis of over 85,000 smokers showed that those who quit a month prior had fewer complications. Experts suggest a balanced approach to smoking cessation, emphasizing the importance of timely surgery over strict quitting requirements.
- ▪Patients who smoke before lung cancer surgery have a higher risk of pulmonary complications than those who quit beforehand.
- ▪The study found no difference in 30-day mortality rates between current smokers and former smokers.
- ▪Surgeons are advised not to use smoking status alone to determine surgical candidacy for lung cancer patients.
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| Original publisher | Medscape |
| Canonical URL | https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/do-smokers-need-quit-before-lung-cancer-surgery-2026a1000fxp?src=rss |
| Publication time | Mon, 18 May 2026 05:47:14 EDT |
| Retrieval time | 2026-05-18T10:04:56.157Z |
| Last seen | 2026-05-18T10:04:56.157Z |
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| Summary source text | contentText |
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| Ranking reason | Story pages are not engagement-ranked. Hub feeds use recency, with optional source-diversified chronological ordering (cap consecutive stories per source). No personalized ranking. |
| Publisher visit | Yes — open original |
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| Retrieval / RAG | May the content be exposed for third-party retrieval-augmented generation? | Not asserted |
| Model training | May the content be used to train AI models? | Not asserted |
| Commercial reuse | May the content be reused commercially? | Not permitted |
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Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Patients who continue to smoke ahead of lung cancer surgery face a greater risk for pulmonary complications than those who have quit the habit, but their short-term mortality risk is no higher.That’s according to a retrospective analysis of over 85,000 current and former smokers who underwent lung cancer resection. Researchers found that patients who were still smoking in the month before surgery had a somewhat higher rate of pulmonary complications than their counterparts who had quit at least a month prior (34.6% vs 30.5%).However, 30-day mortality was identical in the two groups, at 1%, according to findings published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.Experts said the results underscore the need for a balanced approach to smoking cessation after a lung cancer…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Medscape.
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