Alcohol Abuse Predicts Progression of Disease and Death in Patients with Lung Cancer

Background Few studies have examined long-term outcomes in alcohol-abusing patients with lung cancer. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of alcohol abuse on the prognosis of patients with lung cancer. Methods The study was composed of 114 consecutive patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer treated at a Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. An alcohol-abusing group consisted of 36 patients with one of the following at the time of lung cancer diagnosis: positive screening questionnaire, alcohol consumption more than 5 drinks or cans of beer a day, or criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence/abuse according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders IV. The comparison group consisted of 78 nonabusing patients. Results Alcohol abusers, compared with nonabusers, had worse Kaplan-Meier overall survival (median 8.5 versus 17.5 months, p = 0.05) and progression-free survival (median 6.0 versus 15.5 months, p = 0.04). In multivariate analyses including alcohol abuse, Charlson comorbidity, pack-years smoking, performance status, and stage, only stage of disease, performance status, and alcohol abuse (odds ratio = 3.44, 95% confidence interval = 1.17 to 10.1, p = 0.02) predicted progression of disease or death within 12 months of diagnosis. Alcohol abuse was also an independent predictor of disease-specific survival (hazard ratio = 1.65, 95% confidence interval = 1.01 to 2.80, p = 0.05) and progression-free survival (hazard ratio = 1.79, 95% confidence interval = 1.12 to 2.86, p = 0.01) among patients with lung cancer. Conclusions Alcohol-abusing patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer have worse outcomes than nonabusing patients. The adverse prognosis associated with alcohol abuse is independent of comorbidity, performance status, or smoking history.