The risk of second cancers in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia is more than doubled compared to the general population, with the rate of melanoma increased seven-fold, a new study shows.
Led by Professor Lin Fritschi from the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, the study examined a cohort of more than 13,000 Australians diagnosed with CLL between 1983 and 2005.
The risk of a second primary cancer was 2.17 times higher than in the general population. Significant excesses were seen in cancers at many sites for at least nine years after the diagnosis of CLL, except that patients had a lower risk of developing non-Hodgkins’ lymphoma or myeloid leukaemia.
The standardised incidence ratio for melanoma was 7.74 and death from melanoma was...
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