Authors :
Presenting Author: Ashmita Poudel, MD – Reading Hospital - - West Reading, PA
Prashant Chaulagain, MBBS – Sinai Hospital of Baltimore
FNU Shivangi, MD – Reading Hospital - - West Reading, PA
Aafreen Khan, MD – Reading Hospital - - West Reading, PA
Prakash Banjade, MBBS – Manipal College of Medical Sciences
Jyoti Pillai, MD – Tower Health - Reading Hospital
Rationale:
While epilepsy imposes significant clinical, social, and economic burdens globally, its specific impact on cancer patients remains understudied. Cancer patients face an elevated risk of epilepsy due to metastatic disease and treatment-related complications. We aimed to analyze mortality trends in adults with both epilepsy and cancer in the United States to identify high-risk populations for targeted interventionsMethods:
We extracted mortality data from death certificates in the CDC WONDER database (1999-2020). Our analysis focused on adults with both epilepsy and cancer. We calculated age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) per 100,000 population and annual percentage changes (APCs), with trend analysis performed using Joinpoint regression.
Results:
From 1999 to 2020, there were 5,829 epilepsy-related deaths among cancer patients. After an initial decline (1999-2001), AAMRs showed a consistent increase through 2020 (APC 7.14, 95% CI 5.25-9.06, p value< 0.001). While men exhibited higher overall mortality than women, women demonstrated a steeper upward trend (APC 8.70, 95% CI 6.50-10.88 vs. APC 5.80, 95% CI 3.40-8.22, p value< 0.001). Similarly, Black/African American individuals had higher overall mortality than White individuals, though Whites showed a more pronounced increasing trend (APC 7.23, 95% CI 5.32-9.17 vs. APC 3.83, 95% CI 2.17-5.50, p value < 0.001). Asian/Pacific Islanders had the highest APC