Malignancies among newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus patients and their survival

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the incidence of malignancies among newly diagnosed systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients compared to reference individuals. Another aim was to assess the survival of SLE patients with malignancy compared to references with malignancy. Finnish adult (>17 years) newly diagnosed SLE patients were identified by their drug reimbursement decisions made during 1.1.2000–31.12.2014 from the register of the Social Insurance Institution. For each case, three population controls were individually selected by age, sex and place of residence. Overall, 1006 SLE patients (women 84%), with a mean age of 45.5 years (SD 16 years) and 3005 population controls were linked to Finnish Cancer Registry, and the information about incident malignancies was retrieved from the day the special reimbursement decision for SLE medication was accepted (index day, ID) until 31.12.2018 or until death. The patients diagnosed with malignancy were followed up until 31.12.2019 considering survival. During the follow-up, 85 SLE patients (women 78%) and 192 controls (women 78%) had developed one or more malignancy after the ID. The incidence rate ratio for any malignancy was 1.41 (95% CI 1.08–1.85). The most common malignancy in SLE patients was non-Hodgkin lymphoma, with twelve cases. SLE patients with malignancy had a lower adjusted 15-year survival than controls with malignancy, 27.1% versus 52.4%, and the adjusted hazard ratio for death was 1.68 (95% CI 1.17–2.43). Our results confirm that SLE patients have a higher risk for overall malignancy. The results also suggest that SLE patients with malignancy have lower survival than their references with malignancy.

Case report: Synchronous tumors of the female reproductive tract in systemic lupus erythematosus: report of two cases and review of the literature

“…Although early detection and advanced treatment have greatly improved the survival rate of patients with SLE, malignancy remains a major cause of mortality in these patients, and its incidence is still increasing ( 10 ). Many studies have indicated a certain correlation between patients with SLE and reproductive tract tumors ( 11 ), which results in a lower survival rate ( 12 ). As co-cancer of the reproductive tract is exceedingly uncommon, no reports have indicated an increased risk in patients with SLE.…”

Global research trends on systemic lupus erythematosus and thyroid cancers (1964–2023): A scientometric and visualized study

“…Mosca [35] University of Pisa Italy 3 134 67 According to the results of journal analysis, Arthritis Research and Therapy, Frontiers in Endocrinology, Autoimmunity Reviews, and Lupus, were the highest ranked journals in publishing related articles regarding this topic, respectively. [25][26][27][28] Considering that 8 of the top 10 most productive journals in this field of research were situated in Q1, it is evident that research in this area has attained a relatively advanced stage.…”

Bioinformatics-based analysis of the roles of basement membrane-related gene AGRN in systemic lupus erythematosus and pan-cancer development

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that immune cells aberrant activation, including B cells (3), T cells (4), macrophages (5), eosinophils (6), and dendritic cells (DCs) (7), plays a significant role in SLE. Notably, SLE patients have a higher risk for overall malignancy (8,9), which is one of the leading reasons for death in SLE patients (10). Immune system dysregulation could potentially be clinically significant in the development of cancer (11).…”