Childhood sexual abuse linked to cancer diagnosis in adults age 65 and older
People who have experienced childhood sexual abuse have twice the odds of receiving a cancer diagnosis at age 65 or older compared to others who have not experienced such abuse, Canadian researchers report. The findings were published on April 22, 2026 in PLOS ONE.
“These findings reinforce why trauma informed care matters, especially in oncology,” said co author Carmine Malfitano, MSW, RSW, PhD, Director of Research and Education at the Centre for Psychology and Emotional Health and Clinical Social Work Specialist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto. “When providers understand that a patient’s history may shape how they engage with screening or treatment, care can become more supportive and responsive.”
As background, the authors noted that physical abuse, sexual abuse, and exposure to parental domestic violence, have been linked in prior research to adverse health outcomes in adulthood. But the correlation between such abuses and cancer in older people has been understudied.
Senior author, Professor Esme Fuller-Thomson, Director of the Institute for Life Course and Aging at Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work FIFSW, University of Toronto, added, “Previous research has shown that early trauma can leave long-lasting biological consequences, affecting stress hormones, inflammation, and immune system functioning—processes that may influence cancer development. Childhood trauma may echo across a lifetime of health.”
The investigators gathered and analyzed data from the 2022 Canadian Mental Health and Access to Care Survey (MHACS).
They evaluated data on 2,636 Canadians aged 65 and older.
They sought to discern whether different types of childhood trauma, including childhood sexual abuse, childhood physical abuse, and exposure to parental domestic violence, were associated with a subsequent cancer diagnosis.
They found that cancer was more common among those who had experienced childhood sexual abuse (36%), childhood physical abuse (28%), and parental domestic violence (27%), compared to the general population (21%).
After adjustment for demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors, CSVC [childhood sexual violence with coercion] was associated with double the odds of a cancer diagnosis (odds ratio = 2.05) in subjects aged 65 and older
The authors concluded, “Childhood adversities are associated with an elevated prevalence of cancer in later life, and the association between CSVC and cancer remained significant even after adjustments for most of the known risk factors for cancer.”
