Skip Navigation



Annals of Oncology Advance Access published online on October 19, 2006
Annals of Oncology, doi:10.1093/annonc/mdl385
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
18/2/381    most recent
mdl385v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kendal, W. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kendal, W. S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 2006 European Society for Medical Oncology
Received June 7, 2006
Revised August 24, 2006
Accepted September 11, 2006

original article

Suicide and cancer: a gender-comparative study

W. S. Kendal 1 *

1 Division of Radiation Oncology, The Ottawa Hospital Regional Cancer Centre, Ottawa, Ontario; The Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
W. S. Kendal, E-mail: wkendal{at}ottawahospital.on.ca


  Abstract

Background: Persons with cancer commit suicide more frequently than those without, and males generally commit suicide more frequently than females. A population-based analysis of cancer patients was carried out here, comparing suicide risk between the genders, to elucidate the features specific to each gender.

Patients and methods: A total of 1.3 million cancer cases from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program were analyzed. Cox proportional hazards models were fitted to personal, tumor-related, and social variates.

Results: A total of 265 female and 1307 male suicides were enumerated, reflecting 0.04% and 0.19% from each gender, and providing an overall hazard ratio for male suicide of 6.2 [95% confidence interval (CI) 5.4-7.1]. Females with colorectal (P = 0.01) and cervical (P < 0.0001) cancers showed decreased suicide rates. Males with head and neck cancers (P < 0.0001) and myeloma (P = 0.02) had increased rates, whereas rates were decreased in males with lung cancer (P = 0.01), liver (P = 0.01), brain tumors (P = 0.04), and leukemia (P = 0.007). The hazard ratio associated for male suicide with distant metastasis was 2.84 (95% CI 2.49-3.24); for married status, 0.46 (95% CI 0.39-0.54); and for African-American ancestry, 0.24 (95% CI 0.17-0.34)--comparable ratios were seen here for female suicides. In head and neck cancers, with both genders analyzed together, the suicide hazard was increased if surgery was contraindicated (3.0, 95% CI 1.3-6.8), but not if refused.

Conclusions: The high-risk patient was male, with head and neck cancer or myeloma, advanced disease, little social or cultural support, and limited treatment options. Oncologists and allied health professionals should be aware of the potential for suicide in cancer patients and their associated risk factors.

Keywords: cancer; gender; suicide.
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Ann OncolHome page
D. J. Kerr Editor-in-
New wave
Ann. Onc., January 1, 2008; 19(1): 3 - 4.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.