Abstract
BackgroundTo compare the outcomes of gastric, colon, lung, and breast cancer patients with and without rheumatic diseases (RD).MethodsThis retrospective study compared the cancer survival rates of a cohort of 122 cancer patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), dermatomyositis/polymyositis (DM/PM), or systemic sclerosis with that of a cohort of 366 age-, sex-, and, cancer type-matched patients without RD who received medical care from 2000 to 2014. Staging, comorbidities, and functional status were ascertained. Survival was compared using the Kaplan-Meier method. Relative risk of death was estimated as a hazard ratio (HR) using Cox regression analysis.ResultsThe mean age of the RD patients at the time of cancer diagnosis was 58.7 ± 11.5 years. The overall survival rate of gastric cancer patients did not differ between the cohorts. The survival of lung or breast cancer was worse in patients with RA or DM/PM than in those without RD (all, p < 0.05). After adjusting for cancer stage, comorbidity index, performance status and age at the time of cancer diagnosis (as well as interstitial lung disease for lung cancer group), the mortality rate among lung cancer patients with RA was significantly higher (HR, 1.81; 95 % CI, 1.03–3.18) than that of lung cancer patients without RD, whereas SSc was associated with decreased mortality of lung cancer (HR, 0.16; 95 % CI, 0.04–0.58). DM/PM were associated with increased mortality of breast cancer patients (HR, 297.39; 95 % CI, 4.24–20842.33).ConclusionsRA and DM/PM seemed to be associated with a higher mortality in patients with lung or breast cancers, whereas SSc seemed to be associated with decreased mortality in patients with lung cancer. It is warranted to explore the survival effect of tailored cancer treatments according to specific RD.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-016-2444-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
To compare the outcomes of gastric, colon, lung, and breast cancer patients with and without rheumatic diseases (RD)
rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and DM/PM seemed to be associated with a higher mortality in patients with lung or breast cancers, whereas systemic sclerosis (SSc) seemed to be associated with decreased mortality in patients with lung cancer
It is warranted to explore the survival effect of tailored cancer treatments according to specific RD
Summary
To compare the outcomes of gastric, colon, lung, and breast cancer patients with and without rheumatic diseases (RD). Rheumatic disease (RD) is characterized by chronic systemic inflammation involving multiple organs. Unopposed inflammation and the production of cytokines, growth hormones, and toxic reactive oxygen species may promote the progression of precancerous cells into a clinically significant cancer [1]. We previously reported that the cancer outcome in patients with Takayasu arteritis was excellent, suggesting that the underlying autoimmune disease might not negatively influence cancer outcome, at least for certain RDs [11]. We aimed to investigate whether cancer patients with specific RDs have a worse outcome than those without RDs by comparing the survival of RD patients with four common cancers (i.e., gastric, colon, lung, and breast) with that of matched cancer patients without RDs
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
