News: Specific co-morbidities in midlife strongly associated with cancer types, study suggests
Patients possessing comorbidities in midlife are at a higher risk of acquiring cancer overall and, moreover, cancers linked to their specific comorbidities, according to a new study.
The JAMA Network Open study examined 128,999 adults without a history of cancer, aged 55 to 74 years. Of those, 0.3% were American Indian, 4.2% were Asian or Pacific Islander, 5.2% were non-Hispanic Black, and 88.4% were non-Hispanic White; 49.7% were male and 50.3% were female.
The breakdown of prior comorbid conditions among the cohort was as follows:
- 38.4% had a history of cardiovascular conditions
- 27.6% had a history of metabolic conditions
- 16.4% had a history of gastrointestinal conditions
- 6.2% had a history of respiratory conditions
- 3.5% had a history of liver conditions
According to the study, the risk of “any incident cancer” was “significantly higher” for individuals with a history of respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. Additionally, the “strongest association,” in terms of comorbidity and cancer type, was between a history of liver conditions and the risk of liver cancer.
“Our findings,” the authors concluded, “may inform clinical management of patients at risk for cancer as well as generate hypotheses that may help guide basic and translational studies… “ elucidating the effects and mechanisms of disease crosstalk in tumorigenesis.”
Editor’s note: To read the JAMA Network Open article, click here.