Nicotine Dependence and Withdrawal in an Oncology Setting: A Risk Factor for Psychiatric Comorbidity and Treatment Non-Adherence - moadel 1999

Highly nicotine-dependent cancer patients are at considerable risk for psychological morbidity in smoking-restricted medical settings. Nicotine withdrawal worsens cancer-related suffering and treatment side effects. This case report indicates how nicotine dependency and withdrawal affected a patient's bladder cancer treatment. Complications include extreme anxiety and non-adherence to medical instructions. This patient's extreme anxiety was reduced using anxiolytics and nicotine substitution to improve treatment compliance. Untreated nicotine dependence and withdrawal can cause severe consequences, thus it's important to monitor every patient's smoking status. Greater staff awareness of nicotine dependency clinical practice guidelines will likely improve patient care and compliance.

Moadel, A.B., Lederberg, M.S. and Ostroff, J.S. (1999), Nicotine dependence and withdrawal in an oncology setting: a risk factor for psychiatric comorbidity and treatment non-adherence. Psycho-Oncology, 8: 264-267. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1611(199905/06)8:3<264::AID-PON372>3.0.CO;2-R