The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia
UBC News
  • Home
  • Arts & Humanities
  • Business, Law & Society
  • Science, Health & Technology
  • University News
  • Services for Journalists
  • Contacts
  • Services for Faculty
Home / 2012 / June / 21 / Multiple sclerosis patients have lower risk of cancer: UBC-VCH research
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Multiple sclerosis patients have lower risk of cancer: UBC-VCH research

Jun 21, 2012

Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients appear to have a lower cancer risk, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health.

The study, published online in the journal Brain, is the first to investigate overall cancer risk in MS patients in North America.

“Because the immune system plays important roles in both cancer and MS, we wanted to know whether the risk of cancer is different for people with MS,” says Elaine Kingwell, the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral fellow in the UBC Faculty of Medicine and Brain Research Centre at UBC and VCH Research Institute. “Not only did MS patients have a lower overall cancer risk, the risk for colorectal cancer in particular was significantly lower.”

The researchers compared the diagnoses of cancer in MS patients in British Columbia with those of the general population. While they found that MS patients have a lower risk in general for cancer – and in particular for colorectal cancer – they found that the risks for brain cancer and bladder cancer were slightly elevated (albeit not significantly). In patients with relapsing-onset MS, the risk for non-melanoma skin cancer was significantly greater.

Further studies will be needed to understand the reasons for this reduced overall cancer risk.

An unexpected finding was that for those who did develop cancer, tumour size tended to be larger at time of diagnosis. More work is needed to determine why some tumours might be caught later in people with MS.

“Because the symptoms of MS can be broad and include feelings of fatigue, it’s possible the symptoms of cancer are being masked or overlooked,” says Helen Tremlett, the study’s senior author and an associate professor in the UBC Faculty of Medicine. She adds that, regardless of the findings, MS patients and their physicians are encouraged to follow cancer screening guidelines. Her team is planning a follow up study to determine whether death rates due to cancer are altered in MS patients.

This study was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada, and the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research.

NB: Elaine Kingwell is available for media interviews. Helen Tremlett will only be available after June 25 and via phone only. Please contact Melissa Ashman at 604.827.3396 and mashman@brain.ubc.ca or Lisa Carver at 604.319.7533 and lisa.carver@vch.ca to arrange interviews. A photo of Elaine Kingwell is available at http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/?p=52151. 

Find other stories about: Brain Research Centre, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, cancer, Faculty of Medicine, FoM, health, Michael Smith Foundation, multiple sclerosis, research excellence, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute

Making a Difference

COVID-19
Learn how UBC is rallying to support Canada's response to COVID-19.

Find UBC Experts

An information source that gives journalists access to UBC’s expertise.

Explore

  • Arts & Humanities
  • Business, Law & Society
  • Science, Health & Technology
  • University News
  • Q&As
  • Media Advisories
  • Latest News

Media Resources

  • Media Contacts
  • UBC Experts
  • UBC Photos
  • Filming on Campus

Tweets by @ubcnews

My Tweets
Subscribe & receive news by e-mail View UBC's Okanagan News Room
    
Public Affairs
310 - 6251 Cecil Green Park Road
Vancouver, BC Canada V6T 1Z1
Tel 604 822 6397
Fax 604 822 2684
Website http://news.ubc.ca
Email public.affairs@ubc.ca
Find us on
    
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.