A study conducted by researchers in the United Kingdom showed the likelihood of urological cancer patients committing suicide is higher than for people without cancer.
The researchers presented the study at the European Association of Urology conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, March 16 to March 20.
They retrospectively examined the records from the England and Wales Hospital Episode Statistics database. They pulled records from 2001 to 2011. They then linked the records with cause of death statistics from the Office of National Statistics.
Researchers found in the general population the suicide rate is 10 per 100,000 people. The all-cancer suicide rate was 30 per 100,000 people. However, among urological cancers the rates are
• 36 per 100,000 people for kidney cancer
• 48 per 100,000 for bladder cancer
• 52 per 100,000 people for prostate cancer
Thus, urological cancer patients are five times more likely to commit suicide than those who do not suffer from cancer.
Additionally, researchers found the median time to commit suicide is 175 days from diagnosis for kidney cancer; 846 days for prostate cancer; and 1,037 days for bladder cancer.