A recent literature review found that patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have a greater likelihood of developing 16 different types of cancers.
Researchers queried PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science for eligible studies published through May 15, 2018, using the following terms in combination with Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms and text words: “Systemic Lupus Erythematosus” or “Lupus Erythematosus Disseminatus” or “Libman-Sacks Disease” or “Libman Sacks Disease” and “Neoplasia” or “Neoplasias” or “Neoplasm” or “Tumors” or “Tumor” or “Cancer” or “Cancers” or “Malignant Neoplasms” or “Malignant Neoplasm” or “Malignancy” or “Malignancies”. Eligible studies had to be published in English, include patients with an SLE diagnosis, focus on cancer incidence in SLE patients, and provide sufficient data with pooled standardized incidence rates (SIRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Studies were excluded if they were not published in English; were duplicates, reviews, letters, case reports, comments, or editorials; only provided description and no comparison; did not provide key information; and were not related to SLE or cancers.
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Twenty-four studies were included in the final analysis and provided data on 24 types of cancers, which were categorized into six groups: lymphatic and hematopoietic cancers, reproductive cancers, urinary cancers, digestive cancers, respiratory cancers, and others.
SLE patients of both genders had an increased risk of cancer, the researchers found. SLE patients were more likely to develop overall cancers, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma, cervix, vagina/vulva, renal, bladder, esophagus, gastric, hepatobiliary, lung, oropharynx, larynx, non-melanoma skin, and thyroid cancers. Researchers also observed a decreased risk of prostate cancer and cutaneous melanoma in SLE patients. There was no correlation with breast, uterus, ovarian, pancreatic, colorectal, or brain cancers.
The risks of cancer development in systemic lupus erythematosus SLE patients a systematic review and metaanalysis: Although accumulating data have suggested the development of cancer in systemic lupus erythematosus SLE patients these results remain… https://t.co/SCBV8EmYX9
— Colorectal Cancer (@Colorectal_bio) December 7, 2018
The study had several limitations. Researchers only included studies published in English, potentially missing other relevant research. Additionally, since topic data were limited, certain confounding factors may not have been fully clarified, so their relationship to the results may have been skewed. Lastly, subgroup analyses were not performed, so factors such as ethnicity, alcohol use, and smoking were not taken into account.
Lupus Significantly Elevates Risk of 16 Cancer Types https://t.co/fMeCYXvznR
— Terri Lewis, PhD #GratefulToBeVaccinated in TN-6 (@tal7291) December 12, 2018
The study authors concluded: “Despite the aforementioned limitations, these outcomes provide a fairly valid and generalizable description of the occurrence of cancers in SLE. Future high-quality research is required to verify our findings and this should pay more attention to the underlying mechanisms between SLE and cancers risks.”
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Source: Arthritis Research & Therapy
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