Migraine not associated with cancer risk for most cancers

(HealthDay)—For most cancers, there is no association between migraine and cancer risk, according to a study published online Jan. 18 in Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain.

Holly Elser, M.D., Ph.D., from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, and colleagues conducted a nationwide cohort study using data collected from Danish population-based registries from 1995 to 2017 to examine cancer risk among individuals diagnosed with migraine compared to the general population.

A total of 72,826 patients were identified with first-time hospital migraine diagnosis. The researchers found that among individuals with migraine, there were 3,090 observed overall cancer cases compared with 3,108 expected cases (standardized incidence ratio [SIR], 0.99; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.96 to 1.03). From 1995 to 2017, the cumulative incidence of all cancer combined was 9.47 percent among those with a first-time migraine diagnosis. For most cancers, including hormone-related cancers, smoking-related cancers, hematologic cancers, and immune-related cancers, the SIRs were consistent with no significant association. Significant SIRs were seen for gastrointestinal cancers (0.78; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.70 to 0.87) and cancers of neurological origin (1.57; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.40 to 1.76).

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