Key result
Cancer is linked to ~60% higher noncancer mortality, especially in the first year after diagnosis.
Why the study?
With improved survival, noncancer causes of death have become increasingly relevant in cancer care, but population-based evidence and research gaps needed mapping.
Is noncancer mortality elevated in patients with cancer compared to the general population?
Is noncancer mortality elevated in patients with cancer compared to the general population?
Effect estimate: Median SMR 1.60 (95% CI 1.24-2.51)
Patients with cancer face a significantly higher risk of noncancer mortality, including cardiovascular disease, compared to the general population, particularly in the first year after diagnosis.
Early noncancer mortality elevation may warrant integrated monitoring in cancer care; supports hypothesis-generating research on competing risks and prevention.
With improved survival, noncancer causes of death have become increasingly relevant in cancer care. Excess noncancer mortality may reflect treatment-related toxicity, comorbidities, shared risk factors, and psychologic distress. This scoping review aimed to map the population-based evidence on the causes of death in patients with cancer and identify research gaps. PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, and Scopus were searched until April 2025. A total of 203 population-based studies using standardized mortality ratios (SMR) to compare cause-specific mortality among patients with cancer with that of the general population were included. Noncancer mortality was consistently elevated among patients with cancer [median SMR 1.60; interquartile range (IQR) 1.24-2.51], especially during the first year after diagnosis (3.42; 1.45-6.92), and remained higher over 10 years after diagnosis (1.51; 1.08-5.49). Younger patients and those with advanced-stage cancers demonstrated higher noncancer mortality. Among specific causes, cardiovascular disease (1.37; 1.09-2.34), suicide (1.73; 1.32-2.77), stroke (1.36; 0.98-2.17), infectious diseases in general (2.20; 1.35-4.16), septicemia (2.84; 1.64-5.47), and pneumonia/influenza (1.57; 1.08-2.69) were consistently elevated. Patients with cancer have demonstrated substantial noncancer mortality. These findings identify priority areas for targeted prevention and further investigation into cause-specific mortality patterns beyond cancer-related deaths to improve outcomes.
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Lee et al. (2025) conducted a review in Cancer. Patients with cancer demonstrated consistently elevated noncancer mortality compared to the general population (median SMR 1.60; IQR 1.24-2.51), particularly during the first year after diagnosis.
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