Smoking, alcohol use and depression often co-exist at high rates among patients with head and neck cancer. Researchers recently designed a randomized, controlled study to see whether patients with head and neck cancer and at least one of the above traits improved with integrated Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) that addressed all of the above factors.
184 patients were randomly assigned to either usual care or 9-11 CBT phone sessions plus optional medications over a period of six months. At the end of the trial, those in the CBT group had significantly improved their smoking cessation rate as compare to those in the usual care group (47% compared to 31%).
The study suggests that an integrated CBT approach, which treats smoking cessation, alcohol and depression simultaneously, may improve smoking cessation rates and provide a more practical means of addressing these co-morbid factors.