Short- and longer-term cancer risks with biologic and targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs as used against rheumatoid arthritis in clinical practice
Rheumatology (Oxford) 2022 doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keab570
Observational, nationwide cohort study finds no increased risk for cancer overall in RA patients treated with TNFis, anti-CD20 or anti-IL6.
The knowledge that b/tsDMARDs interfere with the immune system, and the known role of immune competence in cancer development and outcome, along with current limited evidence – especially long-term data – on cancer outcomes with these therapies, provided the rationale for Huss, et al. to assess the association between b/tsDMARDs and short- and long-term cancer incidence in patients with RA.
Using data from the Swedish Rheumatology Quality Register, and from other registers linked to the national Swedish Cancer Register, the results from their study extend the safety profile of bDMARDs in RA.
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