Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Dec;10(12):911-919.
doi: 10.14740/jocmr3617w. Epub 2018 Oct 30.

Comparison of Comorbid Conditions Between Cancer Survivors and Age-Matched Patients Without Cancer

Satyajeet Roy  1 , Shirisha Vallepu  2 , Cristian Barrios  1 , Krystal Hunter  3
Affiliations

Comparison of Comorbid Conditions Between Cancer Survivors and Age-Matched Patients Without Cancer

Satyajeet Roy et al. J Clin Med Res. 2018 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Cancer survivors suffer from many comorbid conditions even after the cure of their cancers beyond 5 years. We explored the differences in the association of comorbid conditions between the cancer survivors and patients without cancer.

Methods: Electronic medical records of 280 adult cancer survivors and 280 age-matched patients without cancer in our suburban internal medicine office were reviewed.

Results: Mean age of the cancer survivors was 72.5 ± 13.1 years, and the age of the patients without cancer was 72.5 ± 12.8 years. The number of male cancer survivors was significantly higher than the female cancer survivors (52.5% vs. 47.5%, P < 0.001). There were significantly more Caucasians and other races (majority Asians) in the cancer survivor group compared to the patients without cancer group (81.8% vs. 79.3% and 4.6% vs. 0.4%, respectively, P < 0.05); while there were significantly less African Americans and Hispanics in the cancer survivor group compared to the patients without cancer group (10.0% vs. 12.8% and 3.6% vs. 7.5%, respectively, P < 0.05). Hypertension (64.3%), hyperlipidemia (56.1%), osteoarthritis (34.3%), hypothyroidism (21.8%), diabetes mellitus (21.8%) and coronary artery disease (21.8%) were the most common comorbid conditions observed in the cancer survivors. Osteoarthritis was the only comorbid condition that was significantly less frequently associated with the cancer survivors compared to the patients without cancer (42.9%, P < 0.05). The frequencies of all other comorbid conditions were not significantly different between the two groups. The majority of our group of cancer survivors had one or more types of the top six cancers which include prostate cancer (30.7%), melanoma (13.9%), thyroid cancer (11.4%), colon cancer (11.1%), uterine cancer (11.1%) and urinary bladder cancer (11.1%); while only a few had cancer of the cervix (6.1%) or breast cancer (0.3%). Use of aspirin, statin, vitamin D, multivitamins, metformin and fish oil supplement in the cancer survivors was similar to the patients without cancer.

Conclusions: Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, osteoarthritis, hypothyroidism, diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease are the most common associated comorbid conditions in the cancer survivors. Osteoarthritis is less frequently seen in the cancer survivors compared to the patients without cancer. The frequencies of other comorbid conditions are not significantly different between the two groups.

Keywords: Cancer survivors; Comorbid medical conditions; Comorbidities in cancer survivors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age distribution of the cancer survivors.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Frequencies of comorbid conditions in cancer survivors and patients without cancer.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Frequencies of types of cancers in cancer survivors.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Frequencies of comorbid conditions in cancer survivors of top six types of cancers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Siegel RL, Miller KD, Jemal A. Cancer statistics, 2018. CA Cancer J Clin. 2018;68(1):7–30. doi: 10.3322/caac.21442. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. Office of cancer survivorship - definitions. Available at: http://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/ocs/statistics/definitions.html. Accessed September 9, 2018.
    1. Deimling GT, Bowman KF, Wagner LJ. Cancer survivorship and identity among long-term survivors. Cancer Invest. 2007;25(8):758–765. doi: 10.1080/07357900600896323. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Meadows AT, Varricchio C, Crosson K, Harlan L, McCormick P, Nealon E, Smith M. et al. Research issues in cancer survivorship: report of a workshop sponsored by the Office of Cancer Survivorship, National Cancer Institute. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1998;7(12):1145–1151. - PubMed
    1. Khan NF, Rose PW, Evans J. Defining cancer survivorship: a more transparent approach is needed. J Cancer Surviv. 2012;6(1):33–36. doi: 10.1007/s11764-011-0194-6. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources