Breast and other cancer deaths in a mental hospital

The neuroleptics, well known as stimulants of prolactin release, are supposed to increase breast cancer incidence. To verify this hypothesis, we selected a group of 853 deaths of female inpatients with mental diseases recorded in the Dr. G. Marinescu Hospital between 1929 and 1978. Using proportionally and indirect standardization methods, we did not find any association between the incidence of breast cancer death and neuroleptic therapy, widely used in the above-mentioned hospital after 1959. Several authors reported a low cancer death incidence in mental patients. Between 1925 and 1978, 2168 deaths were recorded in this hospital. Besides death certificates, we also studied 1444 complete autopsy protocols (66.60% of all the deaths). Cancer deaths represented 1.94% of 1231 deaths recorded between 1925 and 1960. Cancer deaths represented 7.04% of 937 deaths in the period of 1961-1978, in comparison with 13.36% of the whole population of Romania (p less than 0.001). Among these 937 deaths, statistically significant lower cancer ratios than in general population were found in ten-year age groups, i.e. between 15 and 74 years in women and between 45 and 74 years in men. No case of leukemia was recorded over 1925-1978. Deaths from pneumonia, bronchopneumonia and cardio-vascular diseases are now frequent in major mental disorders. New prospective studies are required to elucidate the problem of cancer incidence in mental patients.