Spanish doctors lead a pioneering study on the association between the apnoea treatment and the risk of cancer
This large-scale study originates in the existence of medical theories that suggested a relation between apnoea and cancer.
Specialists from the Otorhinolaryngology and Pulmonology Units of the Quirónsalud Marbella Hospital have proven that there is no association between the treatment of sleep apnoea and the onset of cancer. The research team led a study based on Big Data in which the medical history of three million patients diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) were investigated. The treatment applied was analysed and a 5-year follow-up was carried through measuring the incidence of cancer, with the conclusion being that there is no association between the therapy the patients received and the onset of the disease. Doctor Carlos O´Connor Reina, Co-Director of the Otorhinolaryngology Unit of Quirónsalud Marbella Hospital explains that "The study was aimed at obtaining an overall vision of the risk of developing cancer in patients with sleep apnoea and comparing this risk against that of patients who receive continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) instead of surgery of the upper airways (UAs)".
This large-scale study originates in the existence of medical theories that suggested a relation between apnoea and cancer. Obstructive sleep apnoea is a chronic disease consisting of recurrent episodes of upper airways collapse during sleep. The most representative symptoms are daytime sleepiness, fatigue and poor night time sleep quality. Apnoea is associated to other comorbidities such as neuronal and metabolic disease (mainly diabetes). Cancer is a common cause of morbidity and death.
Our expert states "we have noticed that the risk of suffering cancer in patients who have been diagnosed with sleep apnoea after 5 years is not associated with the treatment used on them", and he continues to highlight that it is important to have leading research in our country. Doctor O´Connor points out that "this is the second study carried out by our team based on Big Data and the first to focus on cancer. We are leading specialists in sleep medicine in Spain and in studies using this methodology".
