Cancer prevalence higher in stroke patients than in the general population: the Dutch String‐of‐Pearls Institute (PSI) Stroke study

• Published in: European journal of neurology Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 85 - 91
• Main Authors: Wilbers, J., Sondag, L., Mulder, S., Siegerink, B., van Dijk, E. J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-01-2020; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cancer; Cardiovascular diseases; Central nervous system; Cohort Studies; Comorbidity; Confidence intervals; Databases, Factual; epidemiology; Etiology; Female; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Humans; Ischemia; Ischemic Attack, Transient - epidemiology; Ischemic Stroke - epidemiology; Male; Medical records; Medical treatment; Middle Aged; Neoplasms - epidemiology; Nervous system; Netherlands - epidemiology; Original; Patients; Population; Prevalence; Registries; Respiratory tract; Risk analysis; Risk Factors; Stroke; Transient ischemic attack; Urinary tract; Urogenital system; Netherlands; epidemiology; risk factors; cancer; stroke
• ISSN: 1351-5101; 1468-1331
• DOI: 10.1111/ene.14037

Background and purpose
The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of cancer and its characteristics in patients with ischemic stroke and to compare this with cancer prevalence in the general population.
Methods
This was a multicenter cohort study with 2736 patients presenting with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. The prevalence of cancer was assessed by interview and verified by reviewing all medical records. In stroke patients with a history of cancer, we studied the subtype of cancer and its treatment characteristics. We used the national database of The Netherlands Cancer Registry to calculate population‐based age and sex cancer standardized prevalence ratios (SPRs) for patients with ischemic stroke.
Results
Cancer prevalence in ischemic stroke patients was 12%, corresponding to an SPR of 1.2 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.0–1.3]. Increased SPRs were observed for cancer of the central nervous system (SPR, 18.2; 95% CI, 9.0–27.4), head and neck (SPR, 3.4; 95% CI, 2.3–4.6), lower respiratory tract (SPR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.5–3.3) and urinary tract (SPR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.4–2.9), but not for other cancer types. Cardiovascular risk factors, stroke etiology, treatment and outcome were not different between patients with or without a history of cancer.
Conclusions
In stroke patients, the prevalence of cancer, most prominently cancer of the central nervous system, head and neck, lower respiratory and urinary tract, was higher than in the general population. Medical treatment for the prevention of stroke in cancer survivors deserves further study.