A new study, published in an online issue of Neurology on October 9, 2024, has found a potential link between a high risk of certain cancers and a multiple sclerosis (MS).
Researchers found that people with MS, which is a chronic and autoimmune disease, can be more likely to fall victim of cancers like bladder, brain, and cervical, as compared to those who does not have this disease.
“People with MS undergo an increased number of tests to monitor MS, making it more likely to detect other diseases,” said study author Emmanuelle Leray, PhD, of Rennes University in France.
He continued, “We found an association between some types of cancer and MS which may have different explanations depending on a person’s age and the types of cancer. Overall, our study found the increased risk of cancer was quite small.”
The researcher examined the data of over 10 years in the French national health care database.
For the study, researchers examined 10 years of data in the French national health care database and investigate 140,649 people with MS and matched them for factors such as age, sex and residence to 562,596 people without MS.
All participants had no prior cancer diagnoses for three years and each person was observed for eight years on average.
” More research is needed, including studies that look at more closely at how cancer screenings may play a role,” Emmanuelle Leray concluded.
