The Rheumatologist
COVID-19 News
  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed
  • Home
  • Conditions
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis
    • SLE (Lupus)
    • Crystal Arthritis
      • Gout Resource Center
    • Spondyloarthritis
    • Osteoarthritis
    • Soft Tissue Pain
    • Scleroderma
    • Vasculitis
    • Systemic Inflammatory Syndromes
    • Guidelines
  • Resource Centers
    • Ankylosing Spondylitis Resource Center
    • Gout Resource Center
    • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
    • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
  • Drug Updates
    • Biologics & Biosimilars
    • DMARDs & Immunosuppressives
    • Topical Drugs
    • Analgesics
    • Safety
    • Pharma Co. News
  • Professional Topics
    • Ethics
    • Legal
    • Legislation & Advocacy
    • Career Development
      • Certification
      • Education & Training
    • Awards
    • Profiles
    • President’s Perspective
    • Rheuminations
  • Practice Management
    • Billing/Coding
    • Quality Assurance/Improvement
    • Workforce
    • Facility
    • Patient Perspective
    • Electronic Health Records
    • Apps
    • Information Technology
    • From the College
    • Multimedia
      • Audio
      • Video
  • Resources
    • Issue Archives
    • ACR Convergence
      • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Resource Center
      • Rheumatoid Arthritis Resource Center
      • Gout Resource Center
      • Abstracts
      • Meeting Reports
      • ACR Convergence Home
    • American College of Rheumatology
    • ACR ExamRheum
    • Research Reviews
    • ACR Journals
      • Arthritis & Rheumatology
      • Arthritis Care & Research
      • ACR Open Rheumatology
    • Rheumatology Image Library
    • Treatment Guidelines
    • Rheumatology Research Foundation
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Mission/Vision
    • Meet the Authors
    • Meet the Editors
    • Contribute to The Rheumatologist
    • Subscription
    • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Search
You are here: Home / Articles / Lymphoma Risk in RA Patients Remains Steady

Lymphoma Risk in RA Patients Remains Steady

September 17, 2017 • By Kurt Ullman

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version / Save PDF
A computer model showing the secondary structure of the drug rituximab. The primary structure of an oligosaccharide (sugar), needed for the biologic activity of proteins, is at the upper left.

A computer model showing the secondary structure of the drug rituximab. The primary structure of an oligosaccharide (sugar), needed for the biologic activity of proteins, is at the upper left.
Dr. Mark J. Winter / Science Source

Patients with a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) experience on average double the risk of developing malignant lymphoma when compared with the general population. With the major changes in RA treatment taking place over the past decade, has there been a reduction in the risk of lymphoma in this population? Researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm Sweden set out to answer that question.1

You Might Also Like
  • Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Risk Remains Higher for Patients with RA
  • Heart Disease: Major Risk Factor for Many Rheumatology Patients
  • Risk of Hearing Loss in Patients with Osteoporosis
Explore This Issue
September 2017
Also By This Author
  • Is Rheumatoid Arthritis Preventable?

“Given the dramatic changes in RA treatment brought about by the addition of biologic agents over the past 15 years, one could expect the lymphoma risk in contemporary patients to have decreased,” says Karin Hellgren, MD, PhD, from the Rheumatology Unit at Karolinska University Hospital. “However, in a previous report from our group, we still observed a doubling of lymphoma risk.”2

ad goes here:advert-1
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Extending Previous Assessment

They extended their previous assessment in a more recent cohort of RA patients, first diagnosed between 1997 and 2012. The group also looked for potential factors, such as RA characteristics and therapy, that may provide insight into predicting those who are at higher risk of being diagnosed with lymphoma at an early stage of the RA disease course.

“To do this, we took advantage of the unique possibilities offered by the Swedish health, quality and populations registers,” says Dr. Hellgren. “This enables links across different registries through the individual’s national registration number (NRN), which is assigned to all Swedish residents.”

ad goes here:advert-2
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Swedish Registries Gave Unique Information Possibilities

Dr. Hellgren

Dr. Hellgren

From the Swedish Rheumatology Quality (SRQ) register, the researchers assembled a cohort of 12,656 incident RA patients diagnosed between 1997 and 2012 with symptom duration less than 12 months between first RA symptom and diagnosis. They then obtained information on RA characteristics at baseline and at subsequent visits, including disease activity during the first year of follow-up.

The SRQ also allowed them to retrieve information on RA treatment with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and oral corticosteroids during the first year of follow-up, and treatment with a tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitor (TNFi) at any time during follow-up.

From the Swedish population register, they randomly selected 10 population comparator subjects for each RA patient. Through linkage of the entire study population to the Swedish Cancer Register (coverage >95%), the researchers identified all registered cases of lymphoma, including date of diagnosis and subtype of lymphoma.

ad goes here:advert-3
ADVERTISEMENT
SCROLL TO CONTINUE

Results Show 60% Hazard Ratio Increase for Lymphomas

Sixty-two lymphoma cases were found during 79,239 person-years of follow-up. This corresponded to a crude incidence of 78 per 100,000 person-years. In the comparator cohort, 380 lymphomas occurred during 776,578 person-years or a crude incidence of 49 per 100,000 person-years.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Single Page

Filed Under: Conditions, Rheumatoid Arthritis Tagged With: ACR Journal Review, American College of Rheumatology, Clinical, disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, lymphoma, malignancy, Medication, outcome, patient care, registry, Research, Rheumatoid arthritis, risk, Swedish Rheumatology Quality, Treatment, Tumor Necrosis Factor–Alpha InhibitorIssue: September 2017

You Might Also Like:
  • Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Risk Remains Higher for Patients with RA
  • Heart Disease: Major Risk Factor for Many Rheumatology Patients
  • Risk of Hearing Loss in Patients with Osteoporosis
  • Biomarkers, Genetic Clues to Higher Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Patients with Lupus

Meeting Abstracts

Browse and search abstracts from the ACR Convergence and ACR/ARP Annual Meetings going back to 2012.

Visit the Abstracts site »

Rheumatology Research Foundation

The Foundation is the largest private funding source for rheumatology research and training in the U.S.

Learn more »

Simple Tasks

Learn more about the ACR’s public awareness campaign and how you can get involved. Help increase visibility of rheumatic diseases and decrease the number of people left untreated.

Visit the Simple Tasks site »

The Rheumatologist newsmagazine reports on issues and trends in the management and treatment of rheumatic diseases. The Rheumatologist reaches 11,500 rheumatologists, internists, orthopedic surgeons, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, and other healthcare professionals who practice, research, or teach in the field of rheumatology.

About Us / Contact Us / Advertise / Privacy Policy / Terms of Use

  • Connect with us:
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • Feed

Copyright © 2006–2021 American College of Rheumatology. All rights reserved.

ISSN 1931-3268 (print)
ISSN 1931-3209 (online)

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.