Epidemiology of cancer in end-stage renal disease dialysis patients: a national cohort study in Taiwan

The incidence and mortality of site-specific cancers in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on maintenance dialysis have been rarely studied for Asian populations. We tapped Taiwan`s National Health Insurance Research Database to identify and recruit patients starting maintenance dialysis between 1999 and 2004. They were followed from initiation of dialysis until death, discontinuation of dialysis, or the end of 2008. We calculated the survival rate and mortality risk of dialysis patients with cancer. Of 40,833 dialysis patients, 2352 (5.8%) had been newly diagnosed with cancer. Being older, being male, and having chronic liver disease were factors associated with a higher risk for new cancer in ESRD dialysis patients. In men, liver cancer (20.63%) was the most frequent, followed by cancers of the bladder (16.88%) and kidney (11.61%). In women, bladder cancer (25.57%) was the most frequent, followed by cancers of the kidney (16.31%) and breast (11.20%). The 5-year survival rates for kidney and bladder cancer were higher than for other cancers; the survival rates for lung, stomach, and liver cancer were lower. In conclusion, the distribution of site-specific cancer was different between men and women in patients with ESRD on dialysis. More attention should be paid to teaching dialysis patients how to avoid the well-known cancer risks and carcinogens and individualized regular cancer screenings.