Observational studyBMC cancer2022
Cancer risk in persons with new-onset anaemia: a population-based cohort study in Denmark.
Observational study in BMC cancer, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Review
- Risk of Cancer After a Hospital Contact for Dyspnea: A Nationwide Danish Cohort Study.Clinical epidemiology · 2026Article
- Article
- Unmasking anemia in the elderly: A systematic review of prevalence, causes, and consequences.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Review
- Anaemia of inflammation and cancer risk according to comorbidity in patients aged 40-89 years: a Danish cohort study.BMC cancer · 2025Observational
- Anaemia, ethnicity, and cancer incidence: a retrospective cohort study in primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2025Article
- Article
- The Association of Anemia on Non-AIDS-Defining Cancer and Subsequent Survival Among People With HIV After Antiretroviral Initiation.Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999) · 2025Article
- The Stockholm early detection of cancer study (STEADY-CAN): rationale, design, data collection, and baseline characteristics for 2.7 million participants.European journal of epidemiology · 2025Article
- Association of routine hematological parameters with the development of monoclonal gammopathies: a case-control study of 134,740 patients : Resubmitted to annals of Hematology 26 March 2024.Annals of hematology · 2024Article
- "Notification! You May Have Cancer." Could Smartphones and Wearables Help Detect Cancer Early?JMIR cancer · 2024Article
- Iron and cancer: overview of the evidence from population-based studies.Frontiers in oncology · 2024Review
- Underlying cancer risk among patients with fatigue and other vague symptoms: a population-based cohort study in primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2023Article
- Chronic Kidney Disease Prevalence in Patients with Colorectal Cancer Undergoing Surgery.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe time interval from first symptom and sign until a cancer diagnosis significantly affects the prognosis. Therefore, recognising and acting on signs of cancer, such as anaemia, is essential. Evidence is sparse on the overall risk of cancer and the risk of specific cancer types in persons with new-onset anaemia detected in an unselected general practice population. We aimed to assess the risk of cancer in persons with new-onset anaemia detected in general practice, both overall and for selected cancer types.
methodsThis observational population-based cohort study used individually linked electronic data from laboratory information systems and nationwide healthcare registries in Denmark. We included persons aged 40-90 years without a prior history of cancer and with new-onset anaemia (no anaemia during the previous 15 months) detected in general practice in 2014-2018. We measured the incidence proportion and standardised incidence ratios of a new cancer diagnosis (all cancers except for non-melanoma skin cancers) during 12 months follow-up.
resultsA total of 48,925 persons (median [interquartile interval] age, 69 [55-78] years; 55.5% men) were included in the study. In total, 7.9% (95% confidence interval (CI): 7.6 to 8.2) of men and 5.2% (CI: 4.9 to 5.5) of women were diagnosed with cancer during 12 months. Across selected anaemia types, the highest cancer incidence proportion was seen in women with 'anaemia of inflammation' (15.3%, CI: 13.1 to 17.5) (ferritin > 100 ng/mL and increased C-reactive protein (CRP)) and in men with 'combined inflammatory iron deficiency anaemia' (19.3%, CI: 14.5 to 24.1) (ferritin < 100 ng/mL and increased CRP). For these two anaemia types, the cancer incidence across cancer types was 10- to 30-fold higher compared to the general population.
conclusionsPersons with new-onset anaemia detected in general practice have a high cancer risk; and markedly high for 'combined inflammatory iron deficiency anaemia' and 'anaemia of inflammation'. Anaemia is a sign of cancer that calls for increased awareness and action. There is a need for research on how to improve the initial pathway for new-onset anaemia in general practice.
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