Pain could be indication of cancer risk--doctors
( 2001-09-21 10:44 ) (7 )

People suffering from widespread pain lasting at least a day may have a higher risk of dying of cancer, British researchers said on Friday.

They believe the pain may be an early indication of an undetected cancer or could mean a shorter survival period for people who develop the disease.

"We have shown an association between the report of widespread pain and excess mortality from cancer in the medium and long term," Professor Gary Macfarlane of the University of Manchester said in a report in the British Medical Journal.

The researchers compared the type and frequency of pain and the causes of death of 6,569 people up to the age of 85 over an eight-year period. Heart disease was the biggest killer in the study group, followed by cancer and respiratory disease.

Fifteen percent of the volunteers complained of overall pain, slightly less than half had regional pain, and more than one-third had no pain at all.

People with regional and widespread pain had the highest death rates. Volunteers who reported pain throughout their body were twice as likely to die of cancer.

"This study has shown that people who report widespread pain have an increased risk of death, mainly from cancer, over the subsequent eight years," Macfarlane added.

In a commentary on the research in the journal, Professor Iain Crombie of the University of Dundee in Scotland said the findings need to be taken seriously and should be analysed.

"If this study's findings are true, then having pain for at least one day can increase the risk of death from cancer by over 20 percent," he said.

"As the authors state, the association needs to be assessed in other studies and possible mechanisms investigated," Crombie added.