Incidence of Cancer in Patients with Irritable Bowl Syndrome

(1) Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) represents one of the most common disorders of gut–brain interaction (DGBI). As recent data has suggested an increased cancer incidence for IBS patients, there is an ongoing debate whether IBS might be associated with a risk of cancer development. In the present study, we evaluated and compared incidence rates of different malignancies including gastrointestinal cancer in a large cohort of outpatients, with or without IBS, treated in general practices in Germany. (2) Methods: We matched a cohort of 21,731 IBS patients from the IQVIA Disease Analyzer database documented between 2000 and 2019 in 1284 general practices to a cohort of equal size without IBS. Incidence of cancer diagnoses were evaluated using Cox regression models during a 10-year follow-up period. (3) Results: In 11.9% of patients with IBS compared to 8.0% without IBS, cancer of any type was diagnosed within 10 years following the index date (p < 0.001). In a regression analysis, this association was confirmed in female (HR: 1.68, p < 0.001) and male (HR = 1.57, p < 0.001) patients as well as in patients of all age groups. In terms of cancer entity, 1.9% of patients with and 1.3% of patients without IBS were newly diagnosed with cancer of digestive organs (p < 0.001). Among non-digestive cancer entities, the strongest association was observed for skin cancer (HR = 1.87, p < 0.001), followed by prostate cancer in men (HR = 1.81, p < 0.001) and breast cancer in female patients (HR = 1.80, p < 0.001). (4) Conclusion: Our data suggest that IBS might be associated with cancer of the digestive organs as well as with non-digestive cancer entities. However, our findings do not prove causality and further research is warranted as the association could be attributed to life style factors that were not documented in the database.

Geriatric Oncology: From Research to Clinical Practice

The incidence of cancer in older adults is strongly increasing due to the ageing of the population [...]

Incidence of Cancer in Adolescents and Young Adults in Jordan, 2000-2017

PURPOSE The epidemiology of cancer in adolescents and young adults (AYAs) is distinct and underinvestigated. Therefore, we investigated the incidence of cancer in AYAs in Jordan. PATIENTS AND METHODS We accessed all records submitted to the Jordan Cancer Registry between 2000 and 2017. We included all patients, age 15-39 years, who were ordinarily resident in Jordan. We then calculated frequencies, age-adjusted incidence rates (AAIRs), and annual percentage changes (APCs) and performed subgroup analyses by biologic sex, age subgroups, and site (SEER AYA site recode/WHO 2008). We also performed site-specific trend analyses using joinpoint models. RESULTS We identified 14,115 eligible patients, of whom 1,531 (10.8%), 4,278 (30.3%), and 8,306 (58.8%) were 15-19, 20-29, and 30-39 years old at diagnosis, respectively. The numbers of male and female AYAs were 5,792 (41.0%) and 8,323 (59.0%), respectively. The crude number of cases increased from 654 in 2000 to 954 in 2017 (APC, 2.6%). The overall AAIR ranged from 32.3 in 2000 to 24.3 in 2017 (APC, –1.7%). The AAIR was 27.6 over the full study period and was higher in females (34.1) than in males (21.6). Carcinomas, lymphomas, and leukemias were the most common cancers. The incidence rates of the majority of cancers trended downward over the study period. CONCLUSION The incidence of cancer in AYAs in Jordan is relatively low and declining. However, the absolute number of cases is increasing because this downtrend does not offset the effect of a high population growth rate; almost a 1,000 cases of cancer are now diagnosed every year, which represents a significant increase in the burden of cancer in a developing country with limited healthcare resources.