Citation

Nelson B, Faquin W. Cancer Cytopathol. 2023; 131(8): 476-477.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/cncy.22743

PMID

37530132

Abstract

Battling cancer can exact a heavy physical, mental, and emotional toll on patients and their families. Even among survivors, multiple recent reports suggest, the course of the disease and its associated harms and stresses can significantly increase the risk of suicide.

One meta-analysis of 28 studies found that the suicide mortality rate among patients with cancer was nearly twice that of the general population. At highest risk were those with mesothelioma, pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, and liver and biliary system cancer.1 A separate study in Cancer that based its findings on the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 18-registry database found that survivors of head and neck cancers had a 2-fold higher risk of dying by suicide than survivors of all other cancers.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; *Suicide; *Head and Neck Neoplasms