Elderly cancer survivors have higher risk for bone fracture, states JAMA study

The number of cancer survivors living in the US is projected to be 26.1 million by 2040. Cancer survivors may be at increased risk of bone fractures, but research is limited in several important ways.

• Among 92 431 participants, 12 943 participants experienced a frailty-related bone fracture.

• Compared with participants without a history of cancer, cancer survivors who were diagnosed 1 to less than 5 years earlier with advanced stage cancer had higher risk of fracture

• The higher fracture risk in cancer survivors with recent advanced stage diagnosis (vs no cancer) was driven largely by vertebral and pelvic fracture sites.

• Compared with cancer survivors who did not receive chemotherapy, survivors who received chemotherapy were more likely to have a fracture; this association was stronger within 5 years of diagnosis than 5 or more years after diagnosis

• Although the HR for risk of fracture was lower among physically active cancer survivors 5 or more years after diagnosis, this result was not statistically significant, whereas current smoking was significantly associated with higher risk of fracture

Rees-Punia E, Newton CC, Parsons HM, Leach CR, Diver WR, Grant AC, Masters M, Patel AV, Teras LR. Fracture Risk Among Older Cancer Survivors Compared With Older Adults Without a History of Cancer. JAMA Oncol. 2022 Nov 3. doi: 10.1001/jamaoncol.2022.5153. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36326746.