Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27166241›Full record

ArticleSleep2016

Sleep Apnea and Cancer: Analysis of a Nationwide Population Sample.

David Gozal, Sandra A Ham, Babak Mokhlesi

Registry-linked trialOpen access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Sleep, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06331819 (Clinical Association Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea), which is not on this map. Cited by 103 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
103citing papers in PubMed, 8 pooled it
10.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06331819 recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2024, after this paper: background citation

Clinical Association Between Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) and Facial Pigmentation, and the Relation Between OSA and Vasovagal Symptoms With Resulting Smoking Tendency and the Effect of Treatment in Patients Referred for Sleep Study.

TypeobservationalSponsorJordan Collaborating Cardiology GroupRan2024 to 2026Enrolled200ConditionsObstructive Sleep Apnea, Vasovagal Syncope, Smoking, Acanthosis NigricansArmsIn-lab polysomnography, Continuous positive airway pressure, Home sleep study device
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

103 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 194 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. Association of obstructive sleep apnea and nocturnal hypoxemia with all-cancer incidence and mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2022
    Pooled it
  7. Pooled it
  8. Pooled it
  9. Trial
  10. Trial
  11. Obesity, sleep apnea and cancer revisited.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2026
    Review
  12. Article
  13. Observational
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Article
  18. Cancer and obstructive sleep apnea.Chinese medical journal · 2025
    Article
  19. Review
  20. Review

43 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

David GozalSections of Pediatric Sleep Medicine and Pulmonology, Department of Pediatrics, Prizkter School of Medicine, Biological Sciences Division, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
Sandra A HamCenter for Health and the Social Sciences, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
Babak MokhlesiSleep Disorders Center and the Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL.
University of Chicago · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

STUDY

objectivesEpidemiological evidence from relatively small cohorts suggests that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with higher cancer incidence and mortality. Here we aimed to determine whether cancer incidence for major cancer types and risk of metastases or mortality from cancer are increased in the presence of OSA.

methodsAll OSA diagnoses included in an employee-sponsored health insurance database spanning the years 2003-2012 were identified and 1:1 matched demographically based on age, gender, and state of residence, or alternatively matched by comorbidities. The incidence of 12 types of cancer was assessed. In addition, another cohort of patients with a primary diagnosis of cancer was retrieved, and the risk of metastatic disease or cancer mortality was determined as a function of the presence or absence of OSA. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were fitted to assess the independent associations between OSA and outcomes of interest.

resultsBased on a cohort of ∼5.6 million individuals, the incidence of all cancer diagnoses combined was similar in OSA and retrospectively matched cases. However, the adjusted risk of pancreatic and kidney cancer and melanoma were significantly higher in patients with OSA, while the risk of colorectal, breast, and prostate cancers appeared to be lower. Among individuals with a diagnosis of cancer, the presence of OSA was not associated with an increased risk for metastasis or death.

conclusionsIn a large nationally representative health insurance database, OSA appears to increase the risk for only a very selective number of cancer types, and does not appear to be associated with an increased risk of metastatic cancer or cancer-related deaths.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overComorbidityDisease SusceptibilityFemaleHumansIncidenceKidney NeoplasmsMaleMelanomaMiddle AgedNeoplasm MetastasisNeoplasmsPancreatic NeoplasmsProportional Hazards Modelscancermelanomapancreatic cancerprevalencesleep apnea

Identifiers

PMID27166241
PMCPMC4945307
OpenAlexW2396234335

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.