Stroke survivors twice as likely to get cancer

STROKE survivors should be closely monitored for cancer for at least 18 months because they may be doubly at risk of developing the disease.

A study of 381 patients who had suffered a stroke also found that in nearly two thirds of cases where cancer did develop, it had already metastasised by the time it was discovered. Doctors are not certain how the association between stroke and cancer works, but suspect that some strokes are being triggered by underlying cancers that have not yet prompted any symptoms.

Presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology, the research followed patients treated for stroke at the Hospital de La Princesa in Madrid for 18 months. During the follow-up period, 7.6 per cent were diagnosed with cancer, most frequently of the colon, lung and prostate. This was higher than the expected incidence of 4.5 per cent for the general population.

Nearly 45 per cent of those who went on to develop cancer were diagnosed within six months of having a stroke, while 62 per cent were diagnosed with metastatic or locally advanced disease.

“Stroke survivors should be followed clinically for the development of cancer in the 18 months after the diagnosis of stroke,” said Dr Jacobo Rogado, who led the research.