Among all cancers, lung cancer appears to put patients at greatest suicide risk
According to new research presented at the American Thoracic Society 2017 International Conference, a lung cancer diagnosis appears to put patients at the highest risk of suicide when compared to the most common types of non-skin cancers. Researchers analysed 3,640,229 patients and looked at suicide deaths for all cancers and for lung, prostate, breast and colorectal cancers individually. Over a 40 year period, there were 6,661 suicides associated with cancer diagnosis.
The study found that, compared to the general population, the suicide rate in patients with:
- any kind of cancer was 60 percent higher,
- lung cancer was 420 percent higher,
- colorectal cancer was 40 percent higher,
- breast cancer was 20 percent higher, and
- prostate cancer was 20 percent higher.