Objective: We have carried out the research among the group of Sardinian patients with PD, led by our Ambulatory of Movement Disorders, to evaluate the occurrence of malignant tumors in PD patients versus the general population. The impact of treatment on the onset of Melanoma and Breast Cancer (BC) has been analysed in particular.

Background: Many hypotheses about low cancer rates in patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have been studied in the literature, especially the reduction of cancer onsets related to smoking. On the other hand many researches shown, that in patients treated with Levodopa, the risk of melanoma may be increased. Further studies are needed to understand the true prevalence of cancers in PD.

Methods: We have collected data of 529 PD patients (236 women, 293 men) in the mean age between 72 ± 8,4 years (± standard deviation), who are currently receiving the treatment at the Clinic of Neurology of the University Hospital of Cagliari and evaluated the frequency of occurrence of malignant cancers. PD patients are matched by age and sex (±3 years) to the general population free of PD, other parkinsonism, tremor of any type, randomly selected, of Sardinia. The PD patients were divided according to gender, ever- smokers and never-smokers and three main forms of the onset of PD: Classical type, rigidity-akinetic predominant and tremor predominant. We have also included the patients with the atypical forms of parkinsonism.

Results: The frequency of cancer is lower in PD patients (4%) than in free-PD (24%) (<O.R. = 0.13; 95% CI 0,08-0,21). In particular, among the tumors present in PD patients, a high frequency has BC (36%), while the association between occurrence of melanoma and PD therapy was marginal.

Conclusions: In PD patients the risk of developing cancer in their lifetime is lower than in the free-PD population, and surely this is linked with the lower proportion of smokers among PD patients. The association between BC, Melanoma and PD must be sought in probable pathogenic pathways common to both diseases, and we are investigating which factors are involved in the low prevalence of tumors in PD patients.

LIMPE DISMOV 1 CONGRESSO ITALIA TORINO.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/correlation-between-parkinsons-disease-and-malignant-tumors/