title: Aerodigestive tract, lung and haematological cancers are risk factors for tuberculosis: an 8-year population-based study.
abstract: METHODS
  The deterioration of immunity in cancer patients may be associated with a higher incidence of tuberculosis (TB).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Despite several previous studies on cancer and TB, no population-based investigation has been published. We performed a nationwide population-based study to investigate the incidence of active TB among cancer patients, and the cancer-type specific risk factors related to TB.
  
  
  METHODS
  This nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study was based on data obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database. A total of 16,487 cancer patients and 65,948 controls matched for age and sex were recruited.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The incidence of TB per 100,000 person-years was 339 in the cancer patients and 202 in the controls, which gives a crude incidence rate ratio of 1.68 (95%CI 1.42-1.98). The hazard ratio (HR) was 1.67 (95%CI 1.42-1.96) after adjusting for age, sex and comorbidity. Cox regression showed that cancers of the aerodigestive tract, including oral, nasopharyngeal and oesophageal and lung cancer (HR 3.09, 95%CI 2.42-3.94) and haematological cancers, including non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and leukaemia (HR 3.22, 95%CI 1.98-5.22), were significant risk factors for TB.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cancer patients have a higher incidence of TB than controls. Patients with aerodigestive tract, lung and haematological cancers are especially vulnerable to TB.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Public Health, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: C-Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: H-Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: C-Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Pu
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: H-C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: C-P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Y-J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Chou
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004067:Digestive System Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology*