If a patient who has been diagnosed with early stages of lung cancer drops smoking then chances of a patient living another five years doubles according to a new study.

Dr Norman Edelman, chief medical officer for the American Lung Association, said, "The results are quite dramatic. I don't think anybody would have expected such a dramatic difference. It's incredible. The important caveat is that this is early lung cancer."

It was noted that if cancer is detected an at early stage lung then the cure rate can be 50 per cent to 60 per cent. But the catch is that a very few lung cancers are diagnosed at this early stage.

An accompanying journal editorial states that less than one-third of all patients who are diagnosed with lung cancer live just one year after diagnosis.

To reach to a conclusion the British researchers studied data from 10 studies conducted earlier. Researchers looked at the impact of quitting smoking post-diagnosis.

Study lead author, Amanda Parsons, a Ph. D. candidate at the U. K. Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at the University of Birmingham College of Medicine and Dentistry, said that meta- analysis to summarize their findings was used.

About 29 to 33 per cent cancer patients whose cancer was diagnosed at early stages survived for five years after carrying on with smoking, while 63 to 70 per cent of patients who quit survived that long.

The findings points out at whether counseling for stopping smoking be offered routinely or not.