Cancer survivors are at greater risk of developing and dying from new cancers

A new study from the American Cancer Society has found that people who have survived cancer as adults are at greater risk of developing and dying from new cancers than people in the general population.

The research looked at data from more than 1.5 million cancer survivors in the United States, aged between 20 and 84, and found that about 10% of them were diagnosed with “later primary cancer (SPC), ”a cancer thought to be unrelated to an original diagnosis.

“The number of cancer survivors who develop new cancers is expected to increase, but, so far, there is complete data on the risk of subsequent primary cancer among those who have survived adult-onset cancer, ”said Hyuna Sung, PhD, Principal Scientist, Cancer Research Research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the study. “These findings highlight the importance of ongoing vigilance and efforts to prevent new cancers among survivors,” Sung said.

Survivors of cancer have been known to have a higher risk of developing cancer even if their primary infection has been successfully treated and they are considered “cancer free.” In many cases, this is a recurrence of the original cancer or metastatic disease associated with the original cancer. It is also not uncommon for treatments for primary cancer to cause another cancer unfortunately, but in many cases this link is difficult to definitively prove. An American Cancer Society study looked at new cancers thought to be unrelated to the original cancer diagnosis.

Of cancer survivors diagnosed with other primary cancers, more than half died from the disease. But the risk of developing and dying from SPC varied widely between different types of cancer and even the sex of the individual. Men who survived laryngeal cancer and Hodgkin’s lymphoma were the highest risk for developing SPC, whereas women who survived laryngeal or esophageal cancer had the highest risk of SPCn.

While it is often not possible to pinpoint the exact “cause” of cancers, many can be linked to lifestyle factors such as obesity and smoking. Among people who had the first smoking-related cancers, such as lung, oral and esophageal intestines – their risk of smoking-related SPC was also improved. Similar trends were observed with people who had both initial and obesity-related SPCs.

The study’s authors suggest that some of these SPCs in cancer survivors may be prevented by addressing the lifestyle factors that increase the risk of developing cancer.

“These findings underline the importance of coordinated efforts by primary care clinicians to mitigate the risks of SPC through survival care, with a greater focus on lifestyle factors, including smoking cessation. , weight management, physical activity and healthy eating, such as receiving counseling or treatment. (tobacco only) to help adopt healthy habits, ”said Ahmedin Jemal, PhD, senior author of the paper and Senior Vice President of the American Cancer Society’s Department of Data Science.