Emerging issues in smoking among adolescent and adult cancer survivors: a comprehensive review.

The number of cancer survivors is significantly increasing, thereby prioritizing the importance of identifying and preventing adverse health outcomes within this high-risk population. Cigarette smoking is of particular salience as it places both adolescents and adults with a cancer history at risk for various health problems, including second malignancies. The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive review of the smoking literature as it relates to adolescents and adults on-treatment and surviving cancer. In particular, the article reviews the prevalence, risk factors, and health outcomes associated with smoking, in addition to the prevention and smoking cessation interventions available to adolescent and adult oncology patients. Furthermore, efficacious cessation strategies have recently emerged from the smoking literature in healthy populations, and their application to oncology populations is discussed. Copyright (c) 2007 American Cancer Society.