Abstract
BackgroundThe close temporal association between onset of some connective tissue diseases and cancer suggests a paraneoplastic association. Adult patients with scleroderma with anti-RNA polymerase III autoantibodies and adult patients with dermatomyositis with anti-transcriptional intermediary factor 1 (anti-TIF1) or anti-nuclear matrix protein 2 (anti-NXP2) autoantibodies have a significantly increased risk of developing cancer. Autoantibodies may serve as biomarkers for early detection of cancer and also could be relevant for prediction of responses to immune therapies. We aimed to test whether myositis and scleroderma specific or associated autoantibodies are detectable in individuals with lung cancer.MethodsSerum from 60 Caucasian patients with lung cancer (30 with small cell lung cancer, 30 with non-small cell lung cancer) was screened for myositis and scleroderma specific and associated autoantibodies by radiolabelled immunoprecipitation.ResultsAnti-TIF1, anti-NXP2 or anti-RNA polymerase III autoantibodies were not detected in any of the 60 patients with lung cancer. Anti-glycyl-transfer RNA (tRNA) synthetase (anti-EJ) autoantibodies were detected in one patient with non-small cell lung cancer. No other known myositis or scleroderma autoantibodies were identified.ConclusionsMyositis and scleroderma specific autoantibodies, including anti-TIF1, anti-NXP2 and anti-RNA polymerase III, are rare in patients with lung cancer without an autoimmune disease. We report here the first case of anti-EJ autoantibodies being detected in a patient with lung cancer without clinical or radiographic evidence of the anti-synthetase syndrome.
Highlights
The close temporal association between onset of some connective tissue diseases and cancer suggests a paraneoplastic association
We conclude that known myositis and scleroderma specific and associated autoantibodies are rare in patients with lung cancer without a known connective tissue diseases (CTD)
We identified one patient with Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with anti-EJ autoantibodies, the first time that this anti-synthetase autoantibody has been reported in a patient without anti-synthetase syndrome clinical features
Summary
The close temporal association between onset of some connective tissue diseases and cancer suggests a paraneoplastic association. Adult patients with scleroderma with anti-RNA polymerase III autoantibodies and adult patients with dermatomyositis with anti-transcriptional intermediary factor 1 (anti-TIF1) or anti-nuclear matrix protein 2 (anti-NXP2) autoantibodies have a significantly increased risk of developing cancer. We aimed to test whether myositis and scleroderma specific or associated autoantibodies are detectable in individuals with lung cancer. A close temporal association has been observed between the onset of some autoimmune connective tissue diseases (CTD) and various cancers, suggesting that the appearance of a CTD may sometimes represent a paraneoplastic phenomenon. Adult patients with dermatomyositis (DM) with anti-transcription intermediary factor 1 (anti-TIF1) autoantibodies have a dramatically increased risk of developing cancer compared to the general population [1].
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