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QUICK STUDY : A weekly digest of new research on major health topics
RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS
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Common drugs do not appear to raise the risk of cancer.
· THE QUESTION Various studies have reported that people with rheumatoid arthritis are more likely to develop cancer than are those who don't have it. Might this be related to the drugs taken to treat the chronic disease?
· THIS STUDY analyzed medical data on 7,830 people with rheumatoid arthritis, all 65 and older. Most people had been prescribed methotrexate to treat their arthritis symptoms; about 15 percent were taking a different type of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (DMARD), including the so-called biologic medications etanercept (Enbrel) and infliximab (Remicade). Blood and lymphatic cancers were diagnosed in 69 people; solid tumors were found in 604 participants. Although blood cancers were somewhat more common among people taking biologic drugs than those taking methotrexate, overall there was less than a 5 percent difference in cancer risk between the groups.
· WHO MAY BE AFFECTED BY THESE FINDINGS? Anyone with rheumatoid arthritis, a chronic disease that affects more than 2 million Americans.
· CAVEATS Before they started taking the drugs, people who took biologic DMARDs generally had more severe rheumatoid arthritis than the others. One of the nine authors had received grants and fees from several pharmaceutical companies.
· FIND THIS STUDY Aug. 31 online issue of Arthritis & Rheumatism; abstract available at http:/
· LEARN MORE ABOUT drug treatments for rheumatoid arthritis at http:/
--Linda Searing
The research described in Quick Study comes from credible, peer-reviewed journals. Nonetheless, conclusive evidence about a treatment's effectiveness is rarely found in a single study. Anyone considering changing or beginning treatment of any kind should consult with a physician.
