Is Humor Really That Important to Cancer Patients? Survey Results from Patients Undergoing Radiotherapy

Abstract

Smoking tobacco is a known risk factor for both incidence and mortality in a variety of genitourinary cancers, likely due to accumulation and concentration of carcinogens in urine. However, in prostate cancer (PC) there are conflicting results from several meta-analyses. We sought to test the association between current smoking (CS) and past smoking (PS) with the development of prostate cancer-specific mortality (PCSM) in the Veterans Health Administration, a comprehensive medical system with high smoking prevalence. Materials/Methods: We used the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Informatics and Computing Infrastructure (VINCI) to assemble a cohort of patients diagnosed with prostate cancer between 2000 and 2015. We collected tumor, treatment, comorbidity, and sociodemographic data using the VINCI cancer registry; coded laboratory, vital sign, and drug databases; and manual chart review, and cross linked these data to the social security death index. PCSM was evaluated using Fine-Gray regression and cumulative incidence function plots.