Background and objective: To analyze the long-term incidence of cancer after the first diagnosis of saccular intracranial aneurysm (sIA) disease.
Methods: The Neurosurgery Department of the Kuopio University Hospital (KUH) solely serves a defined Eastern Finnish population. The Kuopio sIA database contains 2,904 consecutive sIA cases from 1980 to 2007, 618 unruptured (170 familial and 448 sporadic) and 2,286 ruptured aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) cases (308 familial and 1,978 sporadic). They were followed for the incidence of cancer (Finnish Cancer Registry) until death (n = 1,176) or until December 31, 2008, giving a total of 26,844 person-years. Their standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of different cancers were calculated as compared to the corresponding KUH population (year of follow-up, gender, age).
Results: Lung cancer after the first sIA diagnosis occurred in 30 of the 1,340 male patients [SIR = 2.0; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.4-2.9], and in 10 of the 1,564 female patients (SIR = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.2-4.7). Poisson regression analysis identified male gender and increasing diameter of the ruptured sIA as independent risk factors for lung cancer, while familial sIA disease, age at aSAH, site of ruptured sIA, or the presence of associated unruptured sIAs had no significant effect.
Conclusions: Carriers of the sIA disease have an increased risk of developing lung cancer. Their long-term smoking habits after the sIA diagnosis should be elucidated for preventive purposes.
Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.