TNF inhibitors do not increase risk of lymphoma in RA
The first study compared the risk of lymphoma in people with RA who took TNF inhibitors with those who took non-biologic disease modifying drugs (DMARDs). It examined the records of more than 15,000 individuals, creating a study that was one of the largest comparisons of this risk.
The researchers found that for up to five years after initiating treatment there was no evidence that TNF inhibitors increased the risk of lymphoma above what they called the “background risk” in people who have RA. The conclusion is that disease activity is the primary cause for lymphoma in people with RA.
Another study by Silva-Fernandez et.al. reviewed data from the BSRBR to study the incidence of cancer in people who had RA, as well as a previous diagnosis of cancer. It compared individuals who were taking TNF inhibitors and Rituxan, a biologic targeting B calls, with people who took non-biologic DMARDs.
The reason the researchers included Rituxan was that it has been used as a treatment for B cell lymphoma. Previous studies have included individuals who took both TNF inhibitors and Rituxan, which could therefore affect the findings. The Silva-Fernandez study looked at data from those who took TNF inhibitors, individuals taking Rituxan as their first biologic, and a group taking non-biologic DMARDs.
The study found that there was little difference between the three groups. In addition, they concluded that “after a median follow-up of 6.8 years, there has been no significant increase in the incidence of malignancies in TNF-inhibitor-treated patients.”
