Cancer in Patients on CAPD

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Abstract
Many workers have reported a high incidence of cancer in persons with uremia or on hemodialysis but there is no agreement on this point. Because the incidence of neoplasms in patients on CAPD is unknown, we reviewed the medical records of the 328 patients treated with CAPD at the TWH from 1977 to 1985. Of these, nine developed cancers, of whom three had been treated with immunosuppressive agents previously. Whether or not these three patients are included, we found no significant difference in cancer incidence between the CAPD and the control population (p = 0.12 and 0.51 respectively). In conclusion, this review found no evidence that our CAPD patients had an increased incidence of cancer. Although an increased incidence of cancer has been reported in patients with chronic renal failure, before or while on hemodialysis, there is no agreement on the issue. The reported incidence of tumors in different studies ranged widely between 0.84 and 9.5% (I, 2). Even though an increasing number of patients have been treated on CAPD, the literature contains no information regarding the incidence of cancer in this population. The present study was undertaken to provide an answer to this question.