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The British Journal of Psychiatry (2005) 187: 334-338
© 2005 The Royal College of Psychiatrists

Schizophrenia and cancer: an epidemiological study

MICHAEL J. GOLDACRE, FFPHM

Unit of Healthcare Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, UK

LIANNE M. KURINA, PhD

Department of Health Studies, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

CLARE J. WOTTON, BSc, DAVID YEATES, PhD and VALERIE SEAGROAT, MSc

Unit of Healthcare Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, UK

Correspondence: Professor Michael J.Goldacre, Unit of Health-Care Epidemiology, Department of Public Health, University of Oxford, Old Road Campus, Old Road, Oxford OX3 7LF, UK, Tel: +44 (0)1865 226994; fax: +44 (0) (0)18 1865 226993; e-mail: michael.goldacre{at}dphpc.ox.ac.uk

Declaration of interest None.

Background For decades there has been interest in the possibility that people with schizophrenia might have some protection against cancer, and that, if this were so, it might hold clues about aetiological mechanisms in schizophrenia.

Aims To study cancer incidence in schizophrenia.

Method Cohort analysis of linked hospital and death records was used to compare cancer rates in people with schizophrenia with a reference cohort.

Results We did not find a reduced risk for cancer overall (rate ratio 0.99,95% CI 0.90–1.08) or for most individual cancers. There was, however, a significantly low rate ratio for skin cancer (0.56,95% CI 0.36–0.83).

Conclusions We found no evidence that schizophrenia confers protection against cancer in general. Low rates of cancer are consistent with the hypothesis that sun exposure may influence the development of schizophrenia, although other explanations are also possible.

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