Cancer Risks in People with MS

 

A recent study shows people with multiple sclerosis may have a small, increased risk of cancer compared to people without MS. This increased risk is highest for bladder, brain and cervical cancers. It’s critical to understand cancer risk in MS, because many cancers are preventable or treatable, with proper screening.“What we found for the most part is that cancer risk wasn’t different in people with MS than people without MS — particularly for some of those most common cancers — breast cancer, colon rectal cancer and lung cancer,” says Ruth Ann Marrie, MD, PhD. “We did however see some increased risks for a couple of cancers.One was bladder cancer. We also saw more brain cancers but that largely looked like it was some of the more benign cancers you would see in people who are getting a lot more MRIs than everybody else so that was overall fairly reassuring. Then we saw a small signal suggesting ovarian cancer was more common in people with MS.”Marrie co-led the 2020 Canadian study which examined the health records of 53,984 people with MS and 266,920 people without MS across two Canadian provinces.A French study, published in 2024, built on Marrie’s research by using 10 years of records from a French healthcare database to look for associations between rates of cancer and cancer screening in 140,649 people with MS and 562,596 people without MS who were of similar age, sex and residence.This study found people with MS had a 6% increased risk of developing any type of cancer compared to people without MS. Risk varied by cancer type and age:

• People with MS had an increased risk for bladder cancer, brain cancer and cervical cancer.
• People with MS had a lower risk of prostate cancer, colorectal cancer and breast cancer.
• Cancer risk was higher in people with MS younger than 55 years and decreased in people with MS 65 years and older

Marrie said bladder cancer is what concerns her most for her MS patients — especially those with permanent catheters or those who suffer from frequent infections.“That (increased risk) highlights the importance of trying to do what you can to prevent bladder infections and having regular follow up – especially if you have an in-dwelling catheter, a catheter that remains in your bladder, because you’re unable to empty it out appropriately on your own,” Marrie says. Marrie stresses the importance of keeping up with recommended cancer screenings.