RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Is herpes zoster a marker for occult or subsequent malignancy? JF British Journal of General Practice JO Br J Gen Pract FD British Journal of General Practice SP 102 OP 107 VO 55 IS 511 A1 Frank Buntinx A1 Richard Wachana A1 Stefaan Bartholomeeusen A1 Kathleen Sweldens A1 Helena Geys YR 2005 UL http://bjgp.org/content/55/511/102.abstract AB Background It has been suggested that herpes zoster may be a marker for occult malignancy.Aim To examine the emergence of a subsequent cancer diagnosis in patients with and without herpes zoster.Design of study Retrospective cohort study.Setting Results were based on the database of Intego, an ongoing Belgian general practice-based morbidity registry, covering 37 general practitioners and including about 311 000 patient years between the years 1994 and 2000.Method Survival analysis comparing the emergence of malignancy in patients with and without herpes zoster.Results The number of patients below the age of 65 years with herpes zoster, cancer or both was too low to draw any sensible conclusions. Above the age of 65 years we identified a significant increase of cancer emergence in the whole group and in females (hazard ratio = 2.65, 95% confidence interval = 1.43 to 4.90), but not in males. No difference could be identified in the first year after the herpes zoster infection.Conclusion Our results do not justify extensive testing for cancer in herpes zoster patients. The association we identified, however, leaves open a number of questions with respect to the physiopathology behind it.