Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Mar;48(1):46-50.
doi: 10.5045/br.2013.48.1.46. Epub 2013 Mar 25.

The prevalence and clinical characteristics of cancer among anemia patients treated at an outpatient clinic

Soo Jeong Kim  1 , So Young Ha, Bo Mi Choi, Mi Yeong Lee, Jong Youl Jin, Soo Jeong Yeom, Tae Wan Kim, Young Min Kim, Keehyun Lee
Affiliations

The prevalence and clinical characteristics of cancer among anemia patients treated at an outpatient clinic

Soo Jeong Kim et al. Blood Res. 2013 Mar.

Abstract

Background: Anemia is the most common hematologic condition encountered in outpatient clinics. It is often overlooked because it is common among patients; however, anemia is one of the leading indicators of cancer. This study examined the prevalence and characteristics of cancer among anemia patients who visited an outpatient clinic.

Methods: The data were collected by reviewing the records of an outpatient clinic from January 2007 to December 2011.

Results: In total, 502 patients (52 males, 450 females) were diagnosed with anemia. Cancer prevalence among anemia patients was 5.57% (25.0%, men; 3.3%, women); further, the most frequently diagnosed cancer was colorectal cancer (22.5%), followed by advanced gastric cancer (16.1%), breast cancer (9.6%), myelodysplastic syndrome (9.6%), cervical cancer (6.4%), renal-cell carcinoma (6.4%), and thyroid cancer (6.4%). The prevalence of cancer was 4.1% in those aged 40-49 years, 4.2% in the subjects in their fifties, 8.0% in those in their sixties, 21.6% in those in their seventies, and 55.6% in those aged over 80 years. The cancer prevalence among iron deficiency anemia (IDA) patients was 6.18% (28.8%, men; 3.5%, women). The cancer prevalence in postmenopausal and premenopausal female IDA patients was 16.0% and 1.6%, respectively.

Conclusion: Among anemia patients, male patients aged over 40 years and female patients aged over 60 years, along with postmenopausal female patients, were more likely to be diagnosed with cancer. Consequently, male IDA patients, and female patients aged over 60 years must be carefully evaluated for the possibility of malignancy.

Keywords: Anemia; Cancer; Outpatient clinic; Prevalence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflicts of interest relevant to this article were reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Prevalence of cancer among anemia patients by age groups.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Relative frequency of malignancies among anemia patients. (Double primary tumor was AGC with bladder cancer). Abbreviations: CLL, chronic lymphocytic leukemia; CML, chronic myeloid leukemia; AGC, advanced gastric cancer; MM, multiple myeloma; RCC, renal cell cancer; MDS, myelodysplastic syndrome.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Relative frequency of malignancies among female anemia patients. Abbreviations: MDS, myelodysplastic syndrome; AGC, advanced gastric cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. de Benoist B, McLean E, Egli I, Cogswell M, editors. WHO global database on anaemia. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO Press; 2008. Worldwide prevalence of anaemia 1993-2005; pp. 1–40.
    1. Balducci L, Ershler WB. Cancer and ageing: a nexus at several levels. Nat Rev Cancer. 2005;5:655–662. - PubMed
    1. Culleton BF, Manns BJ, Zhang J, Tonelli M, Klarenbach S, Hemmelgarn BR. Impact of anemia on hospitalization and mortality in older adults. Blood. 2006;107:3841–3846. - PubMed
    1. Penninx BW, Cohen HJ, Woodman RC. Anemia and cancer in older persons. J Support Oncol. 2007;5:107–113. - PubMed
    1. Atti AR, Palmer K, Volpato S, Zuliani G, Winblad B, Fratiglioni L. Anaemia increases the risk of dementia in cognitively intact elderly. Neurobiol Aging. 2006;27:278–284. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources