Cancer risk following appendectomy for acute appendicitis (Denmark).
OBJECTIVE
Epidemiologic studies have not been able definitely to exclude that appendectomy carries a cancer risk. This study was conducted to clarify whether appendectomy is associated with a subsequent increase in cancer risk, since appendectomy is frequently an elective procedure.


METHODS
The present study included more than 82,000 persons who underwent appendectomy for acute appendicitis during 1977-89 according to the nation-wide Danish Hospital Discharge Register. During a follow-up interval of up to 17 years, cancer incidence was assessed by linkage to the Danish Cancer Registry and compared with the incidence in the general population of Denmark.


RESULTS
The total number of malignancies among appendectomized persons was 1.05 times higher than expected with 95 percent confidence intervals of 0.99-1.11. There was no clear significant excess of any specific cancer type.


CONCLUSIONS
During a postsurgery period of nearly two decades, results of our study did not support the hypothesis that either appendectomy or acute appendicitis are likely to be associated with malignant neoplasms.
Mellemkjaer
L
L
Danish Cancer Society, Institute of Cancer Epidemiology, Copenhagen.
Johansen
C
C
Linet
M S
MS
Gridley
G
G
Olsen
J H
JH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001062:Appendectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D001064:Appendicitis / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012042:Registries; D012307:Risk Factors