Pack Years Calculator For Lung Cancer Risk

Determines pack years value based on smoking habits to determine risk for lung disease.

Refer to the text below the tool for more information on the correlation between pack years and risk of lung disease (including cancer).


Pack years (Packs of cigarettes smoked per day multiplied by the number of years patient has been smoking) was found to correlate with risk of lung disease (including cancer).


Pack Years = Packs of cigarettes smoked per day x Years the patient smoked

According to clinical practice guidelines, adult patients 55 years or older with 30 or more pack year history of smoking are considered high risk for lung cancer and should undergo screening with low-dose CT.


Packs of cigarettes smoked per day (1 pack = 20 cigarettes)
Number of years the patient smoked
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Steps on how to print your input & results:

1. Fill in the calculator/tool with your values and/or your answer choices and press Calculate.

2. Then you can click on the Print button to open a PDF in a separate window with the inputs and results. You can further save the PDF or print it.

Please note that once you have closed the PDF you need to click on the Calculate button before you try opening it again, otherwise the input and/or results may not appear in the pdf.


 

About the Pack Years measure

This is a simple to use and apply measure of quantifying smoking history.  One important measure for smoking exposure in patient’s histories is smoking duration in years which is known to have strong links to smoking related diseases.

A common single number used by clinicians is smoking pack years and can be recorded on most medical computer systems.

No. of Pack Years = Packs of cigarettes smoked per day x No. of years patient has been smoking

According to clinical practice guidelines, adult patients 55 years or older with 30 or more pack year history of smoking are considered high risk for lung cancer and should undergo screening with low-dose computed tomography lung cancer screening

Pack Years was also found to correlate with survival in patients with diagnosed lung cancer. In the 2010 study by Janjigian et al. on patients with advanced lung cancer (stage IIIB/IV NSCLC), median overall survival was:

  • 8 months in patients with >15 pack years smoking history;
  • 6 months in patients with ≤15 pack years history.
 

References

Moyer VA. Screening for lung cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Ann Intern Med. 2014;160(5):330-8.

Wood DE, Kazerooni EA, Baum SL, et al. Lung Cancer Screening, Version 3.2018, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. J Natl Compr Canc Netw. 2018;16(4):412-441.

Janjigian YY, Mcdonnell K, Kris MG, et al. Pack-years of cigarette smoking as a prognostic factor in patients with stage IIIB/IV nonsmall cell lung cancer. Cancer. 2010;116(3):670-5.


Specialty: Miscellaneous

System: Respiratory

Objective: Risk Screening

Article By: Denise Nedea

Published On: April 28, 2020 · 12:00 AM

Last Checked: April 28, 2020

Next Review: April 28, 2025