Smoking cessation sharply reduced lung cancer mortality in a historical cohort of 3185 Chinese silicotic workers from 1981 to 2014

Population-based studies showed an over 50% decrease in lung cancer risk after quitting smoking for 5–6 years, but the beneficial effect in silicotics remains unknown. We aimed to rectify this knowledge gap using a large historical cohort of 3185 Chinese silicotics since 1981 and followed-up till 2014. Baseline information on workers’ socio-demographics, smoking habits, occupational history, and medical history was collected. Smoking status was reassessed during follow-up. Multiple Cox proportional hazards model was performed to evaluate the impact of smoking cessation on lung cancer mortality. Overall, 1942 deaths occurred and 188 lung cancer deaths were identified. Compared with never quitters, silicotics who were new quitters had almost halved their lung cancer risk [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.51, 95%CI: 0.34–0.76], while persistent quitters had a 53% risk reduction (HR = 0.47, 95%CI: 0.33–0.66). Lung cancer mortality approximately halved after quitting smoking for 10 years. While the risk kept decreasing with years since cessation, it did not reverse back to that of never smokers. Persistent quitters with small opacities tended to have higher beneficial effects than those with large opacities. Smoking cessation for 10 years halved lung cancer mortality among silicotics, while the beneficial effect was prominent for patients with small opacities.