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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol 2022; 43(03): 289-293
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1750205
Brief Communication

The Intersection of Tobacco Use, Health Disparities, and Inequalities in Lung Cancer Treatment and Survival

Abhishek Shankar
1   Department of Radiation Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Patna, Patna, Bihar, India
,
Callum Yau 
2   Department of Medical Education, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
,
Isaac G. Wallbridge
2   Department of Medical Education, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
,
Deepak Saini 
3   Materia Medica Department, Lal Bahadur Shastri Homoeopathic Medical College and Hospital, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India
,
Chandra Prakash Prasad
4   Medical Oncology (Lab), All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India
,
Pritanjali Singh
5   Department of Radiotherapy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences Patna, Bihar, India
,
Jagdish Kaur 
6   Healthier Populations and Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) Department, WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia, New Delhi, India
,
Shubham Roy
7   Department of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science & Research, Delhi, India
,
Praveen Sinha
8   National Professional Officer, Division of Tobacco Control, World Health Organisation India
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Abstract

Tobacco use and socioeconomic status are related with each other and important determinants of disparities and inequalities to access to care. There is overall reduction in number of smokers but still most number of smokers is represented by people from low socioeconomic status, with less number of these people having an access to the treatment centers. Patients who are tobacco users have shown to be less likely to receive any form of treatment for lung cancer, whether that be chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery. As there is less awareness about signs and symptoms of lung cancer, lower socioeconomic patients are likely to report to hospitals at advanced stages or many times as a medical emergency. We are well aware that patients with advanced lung cancer have lower chances of survival in view of incomplete response to treatment. As there is an intersection between tobacco use, health disparities, and inequalities and lung cancer treatment and survival, this issue needs better focus and attention to minimize disparities and inequalities in access to care and outcomes.

Keywords

lung cancer - tobacco - smoking - inequalities - health disparities


Publication History

Article published online:
02 July 2022

© 2022. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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