Prevalence of Urinary Tract Cancer in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Data from the Vercelli Registry

Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is recognized as a systemic disorder associated with several comorbidities, including renal dysfunction, which may improve with continuous positive airway pressure (C-PAP) therapy. Sleep fragmentation and nocturnal hypoxia characteristic of OSA have been implicated in carcinogenesis, particularly affecting hypoxia-sensitive urinary tract tissues. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of different cancer types among patients with concurrent OSA and malignancy and to characterize the clinical profiles of those with urinary tract cancer.

We retrospectively analyzed 50 patients with both OSA and cancer from the Vercelli Hospital Registry. Cancer diagnoses were collected at the time of OSA diagnosis, prior to C-PAP initiation.

Among the cohort (70% males) of OSA-cancer patients, urinary tract cancers were the most frequent (34%), followed by breast (14%), colorectal (12%), lung (10%), laryngeal and skin (8%), intracranial (6%), hematologic and parotid (4%), and other cancers (2%); 10% had multiple cancer sites. Patients with urinary tract cancer were mainly male (88%, p = 0.0043) and displayed better respiratory indices, frequent hypertension, and higher C-PAP adherence.

These findings suggest a possible link between OSA-related hypoxia and carcinogenesis in urinary tract tissues and support increased clinical surveillance and further research to determine potential protective effects of C-PAP therapy.