In a new Taiwanese study, researchers have linked Parkinson’s disease with increased risk of more than 16 different types of cancers.

The study has also refuted the findings of an earlier western study that has unveiled that Parkinson’s disease can reduce the risk of certain types of cancers. As per Neurology Review, patients of Parkinson’s disease were found to suffer from an increased risk of both melanoma and prostate cancer in comparison to other person.

Study researcher Dr. Pan-Chyr Yang of the National Taiwan University College of Medicine along with co-researchers carried out the study with an aim to know the link between the two diseases in Taiwan. For the study, the researchers used the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database.

From the data, the researchers were able to have a data of 62,023 subjects diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease between 2004 and 2010. The researchers also included control group having 124,046 subjects who did not have the disease.

The researchers came to know about the increased risk for 16 other cancers, including malignant brain tumors, gastrointestinal tract cancers, lung cancers, certain hormone-related cancers, urinary tract cancers, leukemia/lymphoma, melanoma and other skin cancers.

No heightened risk for breast, ovarian or thyroid cancer was found. The researchers said Parkinson’s disease is a risk factor for most cancer is Taiwan. Further research is needed to know whether or not findings can be applied to other East Asian populations.

“The striking differences between our study and the previous studies in Western cohorts suggest the importance of ethnicity and environmental exposures in disease pathogenesis”, said the researchers.