Lupus drugs increase cancer risk

Immunosuppressive drugs used in systemic lupus erythaematosus (SLE) contribute to an increased risk of haematological malignancies, according to new findings. To investigate the link between cancer risk and exposure to immunosuppressive therapy researchers conducted a multi-site international case—cohort study of 784 patients with SLE. The authors focused on 246 patients with cancer, including 46 with haematological cancers and 35 with lung cancer, and 538 patients without cancer. The adjusted hazard ration for overall cancer risk after any immunosuppressive drug was 0.82. Older age (>65 years) and the presence of more severe SLE damage were associated with overall cancer risk. As expected, smoking was a prominent risk factor for lung cancer(n=35). When considering haematological cancers specifically (n=46), the authors report "a suggestion of an increased risk after immunosuppressive drug exposures". In one analysis, over a period of five years, the use of such drugs more than doubled the risk of haematological cancers (adjusted HR 2.29). "Though immunosuppressive therapy may not be the principal driving factor for overall cancer risk, it may contribute to an increased risk of haematological malignancies," the researchers noted. "Our results set the stage for future evaluations of long-term effects of emerging agents" for treatments that are not associated with an increased cancer risk, they added. Reference Bernatsky, S. Joseph, l. Boivin, JF. et al. 2007. ‘The relationship between cancer and medication exposures in systemic lupus erythaematosus: a case—cohort study’. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases vol. 67, pp. 74-79....