Cancer in patients with schizophrenia: What is the next step?

Abstract

People with schizophrenia, who constitute approximately 0.3-1% of the general population, have a nearly 20% shorter life expectancy than the general population. The incidence of varied types of cancers in patients with schizophrenia is controversial. The majority of previous research has demonstrated that patients who have schizophrenia and cancer have early mortality compared to the general population with cancer. The causes of early mortality in patients with schizophrenia and cancer might be attributed to a lower cancer screening rate and lack of effective treatment, including: (i) patient factors, such as poor lifestyle, passive attitude toward treatment, or comorbidity; (ii) physician factors, such as physician bias, which may decrease the delivery of care for individuals with mental disorders; and (iii) hospital administration factors, such as stigma and discrimination. Additional studies on patients with schizophrenia and cancer are warranted and should include the following: a comprehensive review of previous studies; a focus on differentiating the specific types of cancer; and methods for improvement. To decrease the early mortality of patients with schizophrenia, the following measures are proposed: (i) enhance early detection and early treatment, such as increasing the cancer screening rate for patients with schizophrenia; (ii) provide effective, timely treatment and rehabilitation; (iii) improve patients' psychiatric symptoms and cognitive impairment; (iv) promote healthy behavior in the general population and emphasize healthy lifestyles in vulnerable populations; and (v) remove the stigma of schizophrenia. To reduce disparities in physical health, public health strategies and welfare policies must continue to focus on this group of patients.

Comparison of Elixhauser and Charlson Methods for Discriminative Performance in Mortality Risk in Patients with Schizophrenic Disorders

“…In Taiwan, it has been found that these patients are more likely to die from physical illnesses such as myocardial infarction [32], strokes [33], diabetic mellitus [34], renal disease [35], and cancer [36]. Patients with schizophrenia in Taiwan have shorter lives than the general population when they have comorbid physical illnesses [31,37]. Although the Charlson Comorbidity Index was developed in a cohort of 559 medical patients [1] and not a population of patients with schizophrenia, we found that all the items of Charlson comorbidities were statistically associated with the mortality in our schizophrenic population, even after adjustment for demographic data and hospital level.…”

Molecular crosstalk between cancer and neurodegenerative diseases

“…Many epidemiological studies have demonstrated an inverse correlation between the two age-related diseases, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases [22][23][24], and this intriguing correlation was restricted to certain types of cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. Indeed, in the case of schizophrenia, varying degrees of risk for different types of cancers have been reported [284,285]. For instance, patients with schizophrenia have shown an increased, marginal, and decreased risk in colon, breast, and respiratory cancer, respectively [285].…”

2‐methoxyestradiol impacts on amino acids‐mediated metabolic reprogramming in osteosarcoma cells by its interaction with NMDA receptor

“…Some studies have reported lower incidence rates suggesting biological mechanisms for protective effects. Chou et al reported that patients with schizophrenia have lower risk of some cancer types (Chou, Tsai, Su, & Lee, ; Chou, Tsai, Wu, & Shen, ). They have determined that patients with schizophrenia were less likely to develop cancer that individuals in the control group for every type of cancer except breast and cervival/uterine (Chou et al, , ).…”