Table 5.

Prevalence of selected comorbidities for cancer patients, aged 66 years or older, diagnosed between 1992-2005 with the four most common cancers, all cancers combined and for people without cancer^a

	All cancers		Breast (female)		Colorectal		Lung		Prostate		People without cancer b
	N=1,056,534		N=123,680		N=137,536		N=166,053		N=213,311		N=100,000
	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%	N	%
Comorbidity
Diabetes	168,639	16.0	17,909	14.5	23,685	17.2	24,418	14.7	28,005	13.1	13,928	13.9
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	163,938	15.5	11,802	9.5	17,744	12.9	55,724	33.6	20,801	9.8	8,980	9.0
Congestive heart failure	102,049	9.7	8,576	6.9	15,908	11.6	20,502	12.4	12,065	5.7	6,864	6.9
Cerebrovascular disease	63,149	6.0	5,718	4.6	8,942	6.5	11,932	7.2	9,403	4.4	5,392	5.4
Peripheral vascular disease	45,436	4.3	3,306	2.7	5,767	4.2	11,350	6.8	6,229	2.9	3,440	3.4
Chronic renal failure	21,807	2.1	1,455	1.2	2,725	2.0	3,592	2.2	3,350	1.6	1,612	1.6
Rheumathologic disease	21,302	2.0	2,687	2.2	2,464	1.8	4,270	2.6	2,382	1.1	1,685	1.7
History myocardial infarction	21,347	2.0	1,286	1.0	2,856	2.1	4,382	2.6	3,777	1.8	1,641	1.6
Ulcer disease	19,489	1.8	1,245	1.0	2,911	2.1	3,246	2.0	2,428	1.1	1,223	1.2
Dementia	15,839	1.5	1,731	1.4	2,804	2.0	2,429	1.5	1,619	0.8	1,784	1.8
Acute myocardial infarction	13,898	1.3	931	0.8	2,280	1.7	2,628	1.6	2,248	1.1	1,088	1.1
Paralysis	7,764	0.7	638	0.5	1,176	0.9	1,325	0.8	1,052	0.5	674	0.7
Various cirrhodites	6,208	0.6	365	0.3	513	0.4	799	0.5	442	0.2	239	0.2
Liver disease moderate/severe	2,109	0.2	99	0.1	167	0.1	206	0.1	128	0.06	88	0.1
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome	270	0.03	8	0.01	18	0.01	56	0.03	50	0.02	21	0.02
No comorbidity	631,457	59.8	83,791	67.8	81,559	59.3	78,301	47.1	148,170	69.5	68,231	68.2
Only 1 condition	266,928	25.2	27,766	22.4	34,579	25.1	50,931	30.7	45,627	21.4	20,930	20.9
2 or more conditions	158,149	15.0	12,123	9.8	21,398	15.6	36,821	22.2	19,514	9.1	10,839	10.9

^aSource: National Cancer Institute SEER-Medicare linked database (Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Utah, and New Mexico, and the metropolitan areas of Los Angeles, Greater Bay, Detroit, Atlanta, and Seattle-Puget Sound). and 5% random sample of cancer-free Medicare beneficiaries.

^bRandom sample of 100,000 persons (controls) chosen by frequency matching to all sites combined cancer cohort by calendar year, age and sex. Controls can be sampled only once in a calendar year, but can be sampled repeatedly across multiple years.