E-cigarettes appear to be unhelpful in smoking cessation among cancer patients who smoke, according to a new study. The study was published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

Results from the study indicated that among cancer patients who smoke, those who used e-cigarettes, in addition to traditional cigarettes, were more dependent on nicotine and were equally or less likely to quit smoking traditional cigarettes than non-users. The study results raise doubts over the potential benefits of e-cigarettes in helping cancer patients give up smoking.

All cancer patients are advised to quit smoking due to the risks of persistent smoking. The increased use of e-cigarettes has posed numerous questions among patients and their healthcare providers over whether using e-cigarettes helps or hinders efforts to quit smoking. Regulators are struggling with the complexities associated with e-cigarettes as they continue to gauge the risks and benefits to members of the general population and in subgroups of individuals.

Jamie Ostroff, PhD, of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, and colleagues studied a total of 1,074 cancer patients who smoked and who were enrolled in a tobacco treatment program within a comprehensive cancer center between 2012 and 2013. The goal was to examine available clinical data regarding e-cigarette use and cessation among cancer patients.

Ostroff said in a statement, “Controlled research is needed to evaluate the potential harms and benefits of e-cigarettes as a potential cessation approach for cancer patients. In the meantime, oncologists should advise all smokers to quit smoking traditional combustible cigarettes, encourage use of FDA-approved cessation medications, refer patients for smoking cessation counseling, and provide education about the potential risks and lack of known benefits of long-term e-cigarette use.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 16 million Americans suffer from a disease caused by smoking.