Stroke risk was higher in people with invasive cancer, particularly during the first three months after diagnosis, a study has found.
The analysis included 182,221 adults aged 40 and over who were diagnosed with a first invasive cancer between 2014 and 2021.
Researchers assessed new ischaemic strokes, caused by a blockage cutting off blood flow to the brain, that occurred within one year of a cancer diagnosis.
The study used information from the Israel National Cancer Registry and the Israel National Stroke Registry.
Overall, patients with cancer experienced 80 per cent more strokes than expected based on rates in the general population, with 62 strokes for every 10,000 patients.
The risk was highest during the first three months after diagnosis, when the stroke rate was 2.5 times higher than expected.
The highest rates were among people with pancreatic cancer, at 5.9 times the expected rate, with 162 strokes for every 10,000 patients.
People with lung cancer had a stroke rate 3.9 times higher than expected.
Breast and prostate cancers were not associated with a higher stroke risk in the study.
Compared with the general population, the rise in stroke risk appeared to be particularly pronounced among younger patients and people with advanced cancer.
Corresponding author Carmit Libruder, of the University of Haifa and the Israel Ministry of Health, said: “Our findings identify the first months after a cancer diagnosis as a critical window of heightened ischemic stroke risk.
“The marked variation across cancer types, with particularly pronounced risk elevations in pancreatic and lung cancers, highlights the importance of identifying patients who may benefit from closer cerebrovascular risk assessment.”
