Seoul National University Hospital Reports Findings in Brain Cancer (Association of Zolpidem With Increased Mortality in Patients With Brain Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study Based on the National Health Insurance Service Database): Oncology – Brain Cancer

2022 JAN 26 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Information Technology Business Daily -- New research on Oncology - Brain Cancer is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating in Seoul, South Korea, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Zolpidem is one of the most common hypnotics prescribed to treat insomnia worldwide. However, there are numerous reports of a positive association between zolpidem and mortality, including an association with increased cancer-specific mortality found in a Taiwanese cohort study.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Seoul National University Hospital, “This study aimed to determine the association between zolpidem use and brain-cancer-specific mortality in patients with brain cancer. This population-based, retrospective cohort study analyzed data in the National Health Insurance Service database. All incident cases of brain cancer at an age of 18 years at the time of brain cancer diagnosis over a 15-year period (2003-2017) were included. A multivariate Cox regression analysis after adjustment for covariables was performed to evaluate the associations of zolpidem exposure with brain-cancer-specific and all-cause mortality. This study identified 38,037 incident cases of brain cancer, among whom 11,823 (31.1%) patients were exposed to zolpidem. In the multivariate Cox regression model, the brain-cancer-specific mortality rate was significantly higher in patients who were prescribed zolpidem than in those with no zolpidem prescription (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]=1.14, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.08-1.21, <0.001). Zolpidem exposure was significantly associated with increased brain-cancer-specific mortality after adjustment in younger adults (age 18-64 years; adjusted HR=1.37, 95% CI=1.27-1.49) but not in older adults (age 65 years; adjusted HR=0.94, 95% CI=0.86-1.02). Zolpidem exposure was significantly associated with increased brain-cancer-specific mortality in patients with brain cancer aged 18-64 years.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Further prospective studies are warranted to understand the mechanism underlying the effect of zolpidem on mortality in patients with brain cancer.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Association of Zolpidem With Increased Mortality in Patients With Brain Cancer: A Retrospective Cohort Study Based on the National Health Insurance Service Database. Journal of Clinical Neurology, 2022;18(1):65-70. Journal of Clinical Neurology can be contacted at: Korean Neurological Assoc, 1111 Daeil Bld, 43 Insa-Dong, Jongno-Gu, Seoul, 110-741, South Korea.

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Hyoshin Son, Dept. of Neurology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea. Additional authors for this research include Sungeun Hwang, Manho Kim, Sang Kun Lee and Ki-Young Jung.

The publisher of the Journal of Clinical Neurology can be contacted at: Korean Neurological Assoc, 1111 Daeil Bld, 43 Insa-Dong, Jongno-Gu, Seoul, 110-741, South Korea.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)