Tobacco Treatment Comparison for Cancer Care

October 14, 2025 updated by: University of Wisconsin, Madison

Comparative Effectiveness Trial of Tobacco Cessation Treatments Among Cancer Patients Who Smoke

This pilot comparative effectiveness trial will compare two active smoking cessation treatments in terms of effectiveness, equity across patient subpopulations, and efficiency among adult patients diagnosed with cancer within the past 3 years. An enhanced treatment comprising 12 weeks of varenicline treatment and 7 smoking cessation coaching calls with a cancer focus will be compared against an active comparator modeled after standard quitline treatments (2 weeks of nicotine patch therapy with 3 phone coaching calls). Approximately 50 participants will be recruited to generate estimates of the effects, acceptability, costs, and equity of enhanced treatment (vs. standard treatment), with the primary outcome being abstinence from smoking 26 weeks after trying to quit.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Primary Aim

1. To generate estimates of the size of the comparative effects of enhanced, cancer-specific smoking cessation treatment versus a generic standard care package similar to quitline care in terms of biochemically confirmed 7-day point prevalence abstinence (no smoking in the past 7 days) 26 weeks after a target quit date.

Exploratory Aims

  1. To estimate differences in CET arms in exploratory outcomes including patient acceptability, completion, adherence, costs, and cost-effectiveness.
  2. To estimate the extent to which treatment effects on abstinence and exploratory outcomes differ across patient subpopulations based on demographics (age, race, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic disadvantage); nicotine dependence; and cancer site, stage, and treatment phase.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
52

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Phase 4

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Wisconsin
      • Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 53792
        • UW Carbone Cancer Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Alive (per medical record)
  • Diagnosed with cancer in the past 3 years
  • Received care from a participating oncology clinic in the past year
  • Has a current tobacco use status
  • Does not have a preferred language other than English (missing language preference will be included).
  • Valid address that is not a correctional facility or residential treatment/care facility.
  • No flag for patient cognitive impairment, activated health care power of attorney, or other health care agent (e.g., legally authorized representative) in the EHR.

The following additional inclusion criteria must be met for inclusion in the CET

  • Smoked combustible cigarettes in the past month.
  • Able to speak and understand English.
  • Willing to set a date to quit smoking in the next 60 days.
  • Willing to receive smoking treatment information.
  • Willing to complete study activities.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • No current suicidal ideation.
  • Suicide attempt in the past year.
  • Currently receiving treatment for bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, or psychotic disorder.
  • Incarceration.
  • Unable to provide informed consent to treatment (i.e., cannot answer questions about study procedures or risks after hearing about the study).

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Active Comparator: Low-Intensity Standard Smoking Cessation Treatment
2 weeks of nicotine patch therapy, 3 telephone counseling sessions, and information about quitline and National Cancer Institute text messaging support services (SmokefreeTXT)
Drug: Transdermal Nicotine Patch
a stop smoking aid, 21 milligrams(mg), 14mg, or 7mg of nicotine delivered over 24 hours
Other Names:
  • NicoDerm CQ
  • Nicotine Patch
Behavioral: Standard Telephone Counseling
3 brief telephone-based smoking cessation counseling sessions
Other: Mailed Information about Standard Care Resources
Publicly funded treatment resources including the SmokefreeTXT program sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line.
Experimental: High-Intensity, Cancer-Targeted Smoking Cessation Treatment
12 weeks of varenicline therapy, 7 counseling sessions targeted to cancer patients, and information about quitline and SmokefreeTXT services
Other: Mailed Information about Standard Care Resources
Publicly funded treatment resources including the SmokefreeTXT program sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line.
Drug: Varenicline
12 weeks of an oral smoking cessation medication
Other Names:
  • apovarenicline
Behavioral: Cancer-Targeted Telephone Counseling
7 telephone-based smoking cessation counseling sessions adapted for cancer patients

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Biochemically Verified 7-day Point-prevalence Abstinence 26 Weeks After a Target Quit Date.
Time Frame: up to 30 weeks post target quit date
This measure is confirmed by expired carbon monoxide and/or a cotinine urine or saliva sample test.
up to 30 weeks post target quit date

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Self-reported 7-day Point-prevalence Abstinence 12 Weeks After a Target Quit Date.
Time Frame: up to 13 weeks post target quit date
This measure is a self-report response at the 12 week telephone follow-up to the question "Have you smoked, even a puff, in the last 7 days?".
up to 13 weeks post target quit date

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Danielle E McCarthy, PhD, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 4, 2025

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 4, 2025

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
January 12, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
January 12, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
January 23, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 27, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 14, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 2023-1025
  • SMPH/MEDICINE/GEN INT MD (Other Identifier: UW Madison)
  • 2P01CA180945-06 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • UW23091 (Other Identifier: UWCCC)
  • Protocol Version 2/13/2024 (Other Identifier: UW Madison)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

Aggregate results from this research will be shared with the scientific community and our research collaborators. The findings from this research will also be shared upon request with study participants.

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

Data will only be shared under the auspices of an approved and executed Data Use Agreement, in accordance with university regulations.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • SAP
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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