Zhang F, Wang K, Du P, et al. - Researchers assessed risk of stroke in cancer survivors vs cancer-free populations by analyzing published data from population-based cohort studies in this meta-analysis. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library were explored to identify relevant studies. Overall 20 population-based cohort studies comprising 10,479,530 participants were analyzed. In cancer survivors vs in cancer-free controls, the relative risk for stroke was estimated to be 1.66; consistently significant results were demonstrated by survivors of head and neck, hematologic, lung, pancreas, and stomach cancer, while patients with other cancer types had no significantly raised risk. A significantly elevated risk of ischemic stroke, vs hemorrhagic stroke, was found in cancer survivors. In cancer survivors who were female, younger age at cancer diagnosis (<45 years), and had a shorter cancer survival duration, the effects were more prominent. Experts concluded a critical role of cancer in the development of stroke. Since included studies showed substantial heterogeneity, caution should be exercised when interpreting the results. However, attention from health policy makers is needed for early prevention as well as effective intervention of stroke in cancer survivors.