2020/05/21
Keio University School of Medicine
Keio University Hospital
Assistant Professor Katsunori Masaki, Part-time Lecturer Hiroki Tateno, and Professor Koichi Fukunaga of the Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Keio University School of Medicine, along with Kohta Satake and Susumu Suzuki of CureApp, Inc. (Chuo-ku, Tokyo), have announced the results of a large-scale, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial of a therapeutic app for nicotine addiction, revealing an improvement in long-term smoking cessation rates in outpatient smoking cessation clinics. This clinical trial was the first of its kind planned in Japan for an app intended to treat a disease.
In outpatient smoking cessation clinics, a 12-week standard treatment program consisting of smoking cessation medications and counseling is covered by insurance. However, only about 30% of patients are able to continue abstaining from smoking after one year, making long-term smoking cessation a significant challenge.
This therapeutic app was developed based on the treatment content of the "Standard Procedures for Smoking Cessation Treatment," which is equivalent to Japan's smoking cessation treatment guidelines. Its unique features include an automated chat function that provides personalized advice on how to cope with cravings or side effects of smoking cessation medications, delivery of educational video content for smoking cessation treatment, and a digital smoking cessation diary linked to exhaled carbon monoxide levels measured at home. Furthermore, by sharing this information with the attending physician, the app aimed to standardize and improve the efficiency of medical care.
The group that incorporated this app into their treatment showed a continuous abstinence rate of 63.9% after six months, compared to 50.5% in the control group, demonstrating statistically significant efficacy. Moreover, this effect was maintained for up to one year. There is no international precedent for a large-scale clinical trial demonstrating the long-term efficacy of such a smoking cessation app, making this the first report of its kind.
These findings are expected to be a great help in sustaining smoking cessation in future clinical practice. The results of this research were published on March 12, 2020, in "npj Digital Medicine," a Nature Partner Journal.
Please see below for the full press release.