Previous research suggests that autistic people and their relatives may be at higher risk of developing cancer. Currently, 120 mutations and genes are common to both cancer and autism. Though research using medical records yielded mixed results, multiple studies suggest that autistic individuals may be at higher risk of developing both hormone-associated and other cancers, and at a younger age than others. Furthermore, evidence indicates that mothers of autistic individuals may be at higher risk of developing cancer as well. We would like to examine data in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD), National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS), 2015 Patient Level Index of Multiple Deprivation linkage, and Mother to Baby Link to identify determine if autistic individuals and mothers of autistic individuals are more likely to develop cancer throughout their lifetimes, and at a younger age than others. We would also like to consider if autistic individuals or mothers of autistic individuals are at greater risk for cancers that are associated with the hormones oestrogen and testosterone. Evidence of an association between autism and cancer could promote greater preventative treatment for cancer, as well as further research into the source of this association.
The objective is to assess the relationship between autism spectrum conditions (henceforth autism) and cancer risk, overall and for cancers mediated by sex steroid hormones. We will select individuals with an autism diagnosis documented in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) between January 1990 and December 2015. From that population, we will select individuals with a documented case of cancer in CPRD or the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service (NCRAS) and determine the age of first diagnosis We will use Poisson regression and one-way ANCOVA analyses to determine if incidence of cancer and mean age of first cancer diagnosis, respectively, are significantly different between autistic individuals and controls, for cancer overall and for breast, ovarian, testicular, and prostate cancers. We will use information in the CPRD and linked through the 2015 Patient Level Index of Multiple Deprivation to control for potential covariates. Additionally, we will apply the same procedure to mothers of autistic individuals by using the Mother to Baby Link to select non-autistic mothers of autistic individuals and compare them against a control group of mothers of individuals without autism to determine if there are differences in cancer incidence and mean age of first cancer diagnosis.
Autism
- Testicular Cancer
- Ovarian Cancer
- Overall Cancer
- Prostate Cancer
- Breast Cancer
Simon Baron-Cohen - Chief Investigator - University of Cambridge
Elizabeth Weir - Corresponding Applicant - University of Cambridge
Adriana Cherskov - Collaborator - University of Cambridge
Carrie Allison - Collaborator - University of Cambridge
Ken Ong - Collaborator - University of Cambridge
Rupert Payne - Collaborator - University of Bristol
CPRD Mother-Baby Link;NCRAS Cancer Registration Data;Patient Level Index of Multiple Deprivation