Smokers who see their own personal risk of developing lung cancer after genetic-based testing show stronger intention and take more action on quitting smoking, according to clinical trial results presented to an American Association of Cancer Research conference.
The pilot study looked at smokers’ response to taking the RespirageneTM test, which combines genetic and non-genetic factors to show smokers and ex-smokers their own risk of lung cancer.
Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in the United States, striking about one in 10 long-term smokers. An estimated 159,000 Americans will die of lung cancer in 2009, and around 219,000 Americans will be diagnosed with it. As with other smoking-related diseases, risk is sharply reduced by quitting smoking. But a recent report by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said one in five Americans still smoke, and progress on stamping out smoking has stalled in the past five years.
Preliminary trial data presented at the AACR’s “Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research” conference now underway in Houston showed that smokers taking the RespirageneTM test took increased and deliberate steps to try to quit soon after testing, with 56% of smokers showing greater intent to quit and 48% cutting down or stopping smoking, compared with peers who were also counseled but not tested.
The pilot study, conducted in Auckland, New Zealand, also showed that 40% actually made a quit attempt, compared to 12% among participants who were not tested. To date the study has recruited 50 smokers, and will be expanded. All were invited to enroll in a smoking cessation counseling and intervention program.
“The data suggests that a clinically meaningful predictive test can act as a powerful motivator for smokers,” said Dr Robert Young, chief scientist with Synergenz Bioscience Ltd. Dr Young, who is also an Associate Professor in the Schools of Medicine and Biological Sciences at the University of Auckland, made the discoveries which led to development of the test.
“The test delivers smokers a personalized message that the risk of dying from lung cancer is actually theirs, not some other smoker’s. Quitting is very difficult for most smokers, but success is greatest when individuals are highly motivated and offered support for smoking cessation, which should be the standard of care for all smokers,” said Dr Young.
The Auckland study also found strong interest among smokers in taking the test (89% of those offered the RespirageneTM test accepted); a generally positive response by smokers to the process (96% said they would recommend it to family and friends who smoke); and no evidence that individuals who received a Very High risk score (who are up to 10 times more likely to develop lung cancer than the average smoker) experienced counterproductive anxiety.