Biologics and cancer risk in rheumatoid arthritis: the latest news
Dr Chris Deighton, President of the British Society for Rheumatology
Biological therapies do not increase the risk of recurrent cancer compared to conventional disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), claims new research due to be presented at Rheumatology 2014.
Scientists looked at data from 425 people with rheumatoid arthritis who had previously had cancer. They examined the relationship between treatment type and new cancer cases, comparing people taking biologics with those who had never taken these drugs.
The number of new cancer cases was lower in people taking biologics compared to those taking conventional DMARDs.
The researchers also found that those previously diagnosed with cancer were prescribed rituximab much earlier than anti-TNF, potentially because rituximab is considered safer for these patients, as it is also used as a cancer treatment in lymphoma.
Biologics (such as rituximab and anti-TNF) and conventional DMARDs (including methotrexate and sulfasalazine) are used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. They target the underlying causes of rheumatoid arthritis, slowing disease progression to reduce pain, swelling and stiffness. While conventional DMARDs are slow-acting, the newer biological therapies act quickly and target individual molecules.
The study is important because there have been concerns that treatment with biologics can increase the risk of cancer recurring in people who have previously had cancer.
“This is extremely helpful information that we can share with patients in order to help them make evidence-based decisions when it comes to agreeing a management plan,” says Dr Chris Deighton, President of the British Society for Rheumatology. “It is essential that we continue to monitor the safety profile of biological therapies, because some of our younger patients may be on them for literally decades. The long-term follow-up that has been conducted so far is very reassuring regarding the risk of cancer, even in patients who have previously had this disease.”
About the British Society for Rheumatology Biologics Register
“The BSR Biologics Register has now recruited over 22,000 patients, some of whom we have now been tracking for over 10 years,” says Dr Alan Roach, who manages the register. “This makes the register a rich resource for researchers to analyse the effects of biologics and increase our understanding of them, ultimately for the benefit of patients.”
