Autism and Cancer
Background
Studies have suggested that cancer mortality in autism is higher than in non-autistic people (Hirvikoski et al., 2016). However, evidence surrounding cancer rates in autism is sparse and inconsistent, with some studies suggesting little-to-no differences in cancer rates between autistic and non-autistic people, whilst other studies imply the existence of a possible association between autism and cancer (Liu et al., 2023). Yet, limitations to study design and methodology make it difficult to draw firm conclusions about this relationship.
It is possible that lifestyle factors in autism might increase risk of cancer in autistic people. For instance, lack of dietary variation has been linked to colorectal cancer in the general population, and food selectivity in autism may therefore increase risk of colorectal cancer. Hormonal differences that are present in some autistic people may also affect incidence of specific cancer subtypes, both protectively as well as harmfully.
Alternatively, it is also possible that cancer rates in autistic people are not elevated, but instead early cancer detection of cancer is precluded by the many healthcare access issues faced by autistic people (Weir et al., 2023). If this is true, then higher cancer mortality rates would not be due to higher cancer prevalence, but rather later detection.
An added complication is that much research into health and autism focuses on younger adults, due to historic underdiagnosis in autistic adults aged 50+ years (O’Nions et al., 2023). It is therefore plausible that cancer rates may be more likely in older autistic populations, but the lack of autism diagnoses increases the difficulty of studying cancer rates in this age-group.
Why We Are Doing This Research
The aim of the study is to investigate whether autistic traits are associated with cancer prevalence and its related risk factors. Given the historic underdiagnosis of older autistic adults, we will examine autism traits in a large group of older adults, to understand if people with higher autistic traits are at greater or lower risk of developing cancer. We will also examine specific cancer types (e.g., breast, ovarian, prostate, lung, colorectal), and histological subtypes (e.g., epithelial).
Method
We will obtain data from the UK Biobank, which has data for 139,000 people aged 50+ years who have completed the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ). The AQ provides an index of traits and behaviours that are associated with autism, with autistic people consistently scoring higher on the AQ than non-autistic people (Ruzich et al., 2015). This dataset will enable us to examine links between autistic traits and cancer incidence in older adults.
Potential Impact
Discovery of an association between autism and cancer will i) help to clarify current research findings in this field, and ii) stimulate further research into steps that can be taken to prevent cancer onset and enhance early screening and detection.
Results
We anticipate that the results of this study will be available towards the end of 2026 and will continue into 2027. Summary findings will be shared on this page.
Staff:
- Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen
- Professor Carrie Allison
- Dr Jason Carroll
- Dr Matt Fysh
- Dr Alex Tsompanidis
- Dr Malini Dey
- Dr Xiaomeng Zhang
- Dr Joe Dennis