A study published online in medical journal, Neurology, stated that people who had cancer had lesser chances of getting Alzheimer's disease. Scientists established a link between the two recently.

Dr Richard Lipton, an attending neurologist at Montefiore Medical Center and professor of neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, said, "Alzheimer's was associated with a rather dramatic reduction in cancer risk."

Earlier studies conducted had also pointed towards a similar link but the there were limitations in the earlier findings.

The accompanying editorial however stated that old people with brain tumors of an advanced stage did not get Alzheimer's because they did not live that long.

About 3,020 people, who were 65 and above, were put under trial which was a sub-study of the large Cardiovascular Health Study. The trial was followed for five years for and eight years for dementia and cancer, respectively.

The results showed that whites who had Alzheimer's were 69 per cent less likely to acquire cancer. On the other hand those with cancer had a 43 per cent reduced risk for Alzheimer's.

There are reports of conducting an in-depth study in future.