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. 2022 Jul;36(7):1850-1860.
doi: 10.1038/s41375-022-01596-z. Epub 2022 May 16.

Changing causes of death in persons with haematological cancers 1975-2016

Lezong Chen #  1 , Yongqiang Zheng #  1 , Kai Yu #  1 , Shuzhao Chen #  1 , Weida Wang  1 , Robert Peter Gale  2 , Ze-Xian Liu  3 , Yang Liang  4
Affiliations

Changing causes of death in persons with haematological cancers 1975-2016

Lezong Chen et al. Leukemia. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

Causes of death in persons with haematological cancers include the index cancer, a new cancer or a seemingly unrelated cause such as cardio-vascular disease. These causes are complex and sometimes confounded. We analyzed trends in cause of death in 683,333 persons with an index haematological cancer diagnosed in 1975-2016 reported in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results dataset. Non-cancer deaths were described using standardized mortality ratios. The index cancer was the predominant cause of death amongst persons with plasma cell myeloma, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and acute myeloid leukaemia. Non-cancer death was the major cause of death in persons with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, Hodgkin lymphoma and chronic myeloid leukaemia, mostly from cardio-vascular diseases. The greatest relative decrease in index-cancer deaths was amongst persons with Hodgkin lymphoma, chronic myeloid leukaemia and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, where the proportion of non-cancer deaths increased substantially. Changing distribution of causes of death across haematological cancers reflects substantial progress in some cancers and suggests strategies to improve the survival of persons with haematological cancers in the future.

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Conflict of interest statement

RPG is a Consultant to BeiGene Ltd., CStone Pharmaceuticals and Kite Pharmma; a Consultant to Fusion Pharma LLC, LaJolla NanoMedical Inc. and Mingsight Parmaceuticals Inc.; an Advisory Board member for Antegene Biotech LLC and StemRad Ltd; Medical Director at FFF Enterprises Inc; Partner in AZACA Inc; and on the Board of Directors of the Russian Foundation for Cancer Research Support.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Deaths from the index cancer, non-index cancer or non-cancer causes among patients with haematological cancer by year of diagnosis from 1975 to 2016.
A All haematological cancers, B HL, C NHL, D PCM, E ALL, F CLL, G AML, H CML.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Actuarial rates of deaths from index cancer, a new cancer or a non-cancer cause based on competing risks.
A All haematological cancers, B HL, C NHL, D PCM, E ALL, F CLL, G AML, H CML.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Distribution of causes of death.
A All haematological cancers, B HL, C NHL, D PCM, E ALL, F CLL, G AML, H CML.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. SMRs of non-cancer deaths.
A All non-cancer deaths, B Infection, C Cardio-vascular disease, D Respiratory disease, E Gastro-intestinal disease, F Kidney disease, G External injuries, H Other.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5. Cause of death from index cancer, new cancer or non-cancer by interval after index cancer diagnosis.
A All haematological cancers, B HL, C NHL, D PCM, E ALL, F CLL, G AML, H CML.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6. SMRs of non-cancer deaths amongst people with haematological cancer by interval after diagnosis.
A All non-cancer deaths, C Infection, B Cardio-vascular disease, D Respiratory disease, E Gastro-intestinal disease, F Kidney disease, G External injuries, H Other.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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