Multiple Sclerosis and Cancer (P1.119)

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of cancer in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and to compare cancer prevalence in patients on disease modifying therapy (DMT) versus those who were DMT naive. Background: Few studies have studied whether MS alters the risk of cancer, with varying results. Previous studies suggest that the use of DMT does not increase the risk of cancer, however these studies did not investigate the use of long term DMT use and subsequent cancer risk. Method: Subjects were part of the New York State Multiple Sclerosis Consortium (NYSMSC) registry. Cancer prevalence and DMT use was determined at study enrollment. Independent samples t-tests and chi-square tests were utilized to determine if there were any differences between those who had cancer compared to those who did not. A binomial test was used to determine if the prevalence of cancer in our sample was significantly different from the North American cancer prevalence of 3.2[percnt] as reported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Results: Of the 9,240 subjects in our study, 133 (1.4[percnt]) reported having cancer. Those who had cancer were older (51.8±11.2) than those who did not (43.7±11.2, p<.001) and had a later age at MS symptom onset compared to those who did not have cancer (38.6±12.1 vs 32.6±9.9, p<.001). Furthermore, MS patients with cancer were more likely to be female (84.2[percnt] vs 74.2[percnt], p=.009). There were no difference in DMT use between those who had cancer and those who did not. Conclusions: Results show that cancer prevalence in our sample of patients with MS was lower than reported by the NCI (p<.001). There were no significant differences in prevalence between those using a DMT and those who did not. We are in the process of collecting more information about type of cancer, specifics on medication use, and family history.