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BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia has been associated with a rate of premature mortality that is 2 to 3 times higher than that in the general population. Although the role of cancer in this excess mortality remains unclear, previous incidence or mortality studies found contradictory results. METHODS: In 1993, a large prospective study was initiated in a cohort of 3470 patients with schizophrenia to examine cancer‐related mortality and predictors. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) were calculated, adjusting for age and sex relative to a representative sample of the French general population. RESULTS: During the 11‐year follow‐up, 476 (14%) patients died; the mortality rate was thus nearly 4‐fold higher than in the general population. Cancer was the second most frequent cause of mortality (n = 74), with a global SMR of 1.5 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.2‐1.9). For all cancers, the SMRs were 1.4 (not significant) for men and 1.9 (95% CI, 1.4‐2.8) for women. For men, lung cancer was the most frequent localization (n = 23; 50%), with an SMR of 2.2 (95% CI, 1.6‐3.3). For women, breast cancer was the most frequent localization (n = 11; 39%), with an SMR of 2.8 (95% CI, 1.6‐4.9). In comparison with patients who did not die of cancer, there were 2 significant baseline predictors of death by lung cancer in the final logistic regression model: duration of smoking and age >38 years. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study demonstrated an increased risk of mortality by cancer in patients with schizophrenia, especially for women from breast cancer and for men from lung cancer. Cancer 2009. © 2009 American Cancer Society.

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