Lung Cancer Patients' Survival May Affect by Wildfire Exposure

Wildfire exposure was associated with worse overall survival of lung cancer patients following their surgery, suggesting that lung cancer patients are at greater risk from the health hazards of wildfires and need to be prioritized in climate adaptation efforts. These findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Oncology. Lung cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosis in the United States and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Meanwhile, exposure to air pollution decreases the chance of lung cancer survival, and wildfire smoke is a major contributor to air pollution (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Lung cancer: Summary

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Lung Cancer and Ongoing Climate Change: Who are the Most Affected?

Surgery for lung cancer is a major operation with serious side effects and recovery takes months. During recovery, individuals struggle with physical (diminished pulmonary and physical function, decreased mobility, increased fatigue), psychological (stress, anxiety, depression), and socioeconomic (out-of-pocket costs, ability to remain employed or maintain income levels).

These consequences of surgery can impact patients’ ability to prepare and respond to the threats posed by an approaching wildfire. While wildfire smoke contributes to worsening air quality, which has been associated with increased cancer risk, proximity to wildfires poses several challenges that go beyond inhaling polluted air.

These include the stress associated with the threat wildfires pose to property and life, the financial resources necessary to evacuate or shelter in place, and the health hazards associated with exposure to contaminated water and dust.

The additional challenges are especially concerning for cancer patients and survivors, who are already dealing with the physical, psychological, and socioeconomic consequences of cancer diagnosis and treatment (2^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Working in Smoke:: Wildfire Impacts on the Health of Firefighters and Outdoor Workers and Mitigation Strategies

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Exploring the Link Between Wildfire Smoke and Lung Cancer Survival

For the study, 499,912 individuals who underwent surgical removal of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) between 2004-2019, were selected from the National Cancer Database. Of those individuals, 168,645 (36%) were exposed to wildfires within a year of being discharged from the hospital.

Researchers found those patients had worse overall survival than the other individuals in the study and that their chances of survival decreased the sooner the wildfire exposure occurred following their surgery (3^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Association of Wildfire Exposure While Recovering From Lung Cancer Surgery With Overall Survival

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Individuals whose zip code overlapped with a wildfire event within three months of NSCLC surgery were 48% less likely to survive compared to patients not exposed to a wildfire event. Patients exposed to wildfires 4-6 months (38%) and 7-12 months (17%) following surgery also had lower survival rates than unexposed patients.

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These results show that the health impact of climate change-related extreme weather events such as wildfires is multi-faceted and further-reaching than we typically think. In addition to the health consequences of inhaling fire smoke, the interruption of care, anxiety due to property loss or financial hardship, as well as the mental trauma associated with experiencing a fire event can work together to negatively affect people’s health and well-being.

References:

1. Lung cancer: Summary - (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)00312-3/fulltext)
2. Working in Smoke:: Wildfire Impacts on the Health of Firefighters and Outdoor Workers and Mitigation Strategies - (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272523120300927?via%3Dihub)
3. Association of Wildfire Exposure While Recovering From Lung Cancer Surgery With Overall Survival - (https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaoncology/article-abstract/2807729)

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Source-Eurekalert