Cancer‐associated ischemic stroke

In ischemic stroke patients, the incidence of prior cancer can be up to 16%,1 both diseases causing significant disability and loss of productive life-years. In a recent US-based nationwide registry study, about 10% of all hospitalized ischemic stroke patients had comorbid cancer, with a slight rise in this rate over the last decade.2 Stroke patients diagnosed with occult cancer are usually older with men being at a higher risk of having comorbid cancer.3,4 In addition, probability of cancer diagnosis after stroke is associated with smoking, elevated D-dimer, elevated C-reactive protein (CRP), and anemia on admission.