Abstract
Objectives
To investigate the pattern of non-cancer deaths and to determine whether there is excess mortality from non-cancer causes among Korean long-term survivors of adult cancer.
Methods
We merged national cancer registry data and national death registration data to determine non-cancer death patterns of 243,713 people who were diagnosed with cancer from 1993 to 2000 and who survived ≥5 years. We calculated standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) by an indirect standardization method.
Results
Of the patient population, 26,498 (10.9%) had died as of December 2005; the cause of death for 6,364 (24.0%) of those was not cancer. The proportion of non-cancer mortality increased with age at diagnosis and correlated with the 5-year survival rate (r = 0.336 for women, 0.571 for men). Although the risk for non-cancer death was lower among long-term survivors in general (SMR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.76–0.80), it was higher among younger survivors (SMR, 1.23–2.50, for those who died before 50) than the general population. Survivors had an elevated suicide rate (SMR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.15–1.42), especially male (SMR, 1.35; 95% CI, 1.19–1.53) and stomach cancer survivors (SMR, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.14–1.66).
Conclusions
Appropriate medical attention for long-term adult cancer survivors, especially younger survivors, is warranted to prevent premature deaths from non-cancer causes.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by National Cancer Center Grant 0710731-2.
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Shin, D.W., Ahn, E., Kim, H. et al. Non-cancer mortality among long-term survivors of adult cancer in Korea: national cancer registry study. Cancer Causes Control 21, 919–929 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-010-9521-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-010-9521-x