(HealthDay)—Most active smokers with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) have made one or more quit attempts, according to a study published online April 12 in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.
Samir S. Khariwala, M.D., from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleagues conducted a cross-sectional study involving 123 active smokers with HNSCC recruited from a tertiary medical center from February 2014 to May 2017.
The researchers found that 88 percent of patients had made at least one previous attempt to quit, with a mean number of 6.6 lifetime cessation attempts. The most frequently reported symptoms were cravings, restlessness, irritability, and anxiety. Symptoms were clustered into two groups: increased appetite, cravings, depression (component group 1 [C1]) and restlessness, irritability, insomnia, anxiety, and difficulty concentrating (component group 2 [C2]). There was a correlation for C2 with quit attempts; C1 and C2 were not associated with maximum quit days. There was a positive correlation for cessation attempts and maximum quit days.
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