title: Relationship Between Sleep Apnea and Cancer.
abstract: In the light of relationships reported between hypoxemia (tissue hypoxia) and cancer, Abrams et al. concluded in 2008 that sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (SAHS) and its main consequence, intermittent hypoxia, could be related with increased susceptibility to cancer or poorer prognosis of a pre-existing tumor. This pathophysiological association was confirmed in animal studies. Two large independent historical cohort studies subsequently found that the degree of nocturnal hypoxia in patients with SAHS was associated with higher cancer incidence and mortality. This finding has been confirmed in almost all subsequent studies, although the retrospective nature of some requires that they be considered as hypothesis-generating only. The relationship between sleep apnea and cancer, and the pathophysiological mechanisms governing it, could be clarified in the near future in a currently on-going study in a large group of melanoma patients.
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neumología. Hospital Universitario y Politécnico La Fe, Valencia, España; CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, España. Electronic address: mianmartinezgarcia@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Miguel Ángel
authors.initials: MÁ
authors.lastname: Martínez-García
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Neumología, Hospital Valme, Sevilla, España.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Campos-Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Biofísica y Bioingeniería, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, España; CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Isaac
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Almendros
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Biofísica y Bioingeniería, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, España; CIBER de Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Madrid, España.
authors.forename: Ramón
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Farré
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D035843:Biomedical Research; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000150:complications; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: Apnea del sueño; Cancer; Cáncer; Hipoxemia intermitente; Hipoxia intermitente; Intermittent hypoxemia; Intermittent hypoxia; SAHS; Sleep apnea