ArticlePsycho-oncology2018
Suicide rates among patients with cancers of the digestive system.
Article in Psycho-oncology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Suicide risk and mortality among patients with cancers of the digestive system: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Systematic review on factors associated with self-perceived burden among cancer patients.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2022Pooled it
- The effect of oncology-specific suicide prevention program on oncology nurses' levels of suicide literacy, suicide stigma, and efficacy perception for suicide risk management: a randomized controlled study.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2026Trial
- A nomogram for suicide-specific mortality risk stratification in patients with tongue cancer: a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-based study, 2004-2017.Translational cancer research · 2026Article
- Suicide Risk and Associated Factors in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer: A Systematic Review.Diseases (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Cause-Specific Mortality in Gastroesophageal Cancer: A 30-Year Real-World Analysis from the Vienna Gastroesophageal Cancer Database.Clinical epidemiology · 2026Article
- Suicide mortality and suicidal ideation among patients with colorectal cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.EClinicalMedicine · 2025Article
- Nursing Care to Reduce Suicide Risk in Cancer Patients: A Narrative Review of the Literature.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2025Review
- Colorectal Cancer and the Risk of Mortality Among Individuals with Suicidal Ideation.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Article
- Suicide Risk in Digestive Cancer Patients: A Systematic Review of Sociodemographic, Psychological, and Clinical Predictors.Cancers · 2025Review
- Nomogram for predicting suicide risk in pancreatic cancer patients: a retrospective study based on SEER database.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Psychiatric disorders in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma: A large US cohort of commercially insured individuals.Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics · 2024Article
- Trends in cancer-related suicide in the United States: a population-based epidemiology study spanning 40 years of data.Translational psychiatry · 2024Article
- Suicide among Cancer Patients: Current Knowledge and Directions for Observational Research.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Article
- A Descriptive Cohort of Suicidal Cancer Patients: Analysis of the Autopsy Case Series from 1993 to 2019 in Milan (Italy).International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- What Causes Death in Esophageal Cancer Patients Other Than the Cancer Itself: A Large Population-Based Analysis.Journal of Cancer · 2022Article
- Risk factors associated with suicide among esophageal carcinoma patients from 1975 to 2016.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Health-Related Quality of Life among Cancer Survivors Depending on the Occupational Status.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Risk factors associated with suicide among hepatocellular carcinoma patients: A surveillance, epidemiology, and end results analysis.European journal of surgical oncology : the journal of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the British Association of Surgical Oncology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectivePrevious studies have suggested that suicide rates are elevated among cancer patients relative to the general population. In this analysis, we comprehensively evaluated characteristics associated with higher suicide rates among patients with cancers of the digestive system.
methodsUsing the United States Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database, we identified all patients diagnosed with digestive system cancers during 2000 to 2014. Patients were classified as having died of suicide if their cause of death in Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results was listed as "suicide and self-inflicted injury." Suicide rates were compared to age-, sex-, and race-adjusted rates in the general population.
resultsA total of 881 suicides were identified among 856 293 patients diagnosed with digestive system cancers. The suicide rate in this population was 32.8 per 100 000 person-years and was nearly twice that in the general population (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 1.91; 95% CI, 1.79-2.04). Suicide rates were significantly elevated for all cancer sites but were highest for esophageal (SMR = 5.03), pancreatic (SMR = 5.28), stomach (SMR = 2.84), and liver (SMR = 2.14) cancers. Standardized mortality ratios for suicide were highest within the first 5 years of diagnosis and increased with age at diagnosis for all sites except colon and stomach.
conclusionsPatients with cancers of the digestive system have a higher incidence of suicide than the general population. Suicide rates among esophageal and pancreatic cancer patients are more than 5 times general population rates. The involvement of psychiatrists and other mental health professionals may be a critical component of cancer care for these high-risk patient subgroups.
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