What is the impact of chronic systemic inflammation such as rheumatoid arthritis on mortality following cancer?

Impact of combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema on lung cancer risk and mortality in rheumatoid arthritis: A multicenter retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

Combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema (CPFE) is a syndrome characterized by the coexistence of emphysema and fibrotic interstitial lung disease (ILD). The aim of this study was to examine the effect of CPFE on lung cancer risk and lung cancer-related mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

METHODS

We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study of patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer at five community hospitals between June 2006 and December 2021. Patients were followed until lung cancer-related death, other-cause death, loss to follow-up, or the end of the study. We used the cumulative incidence function with Gray's test and Fine-Gray regression analysis for survival analysis.

RESULTS

A total of 563 patients with biopsy-proven lung cancer were included (82 RA patients and 481 non-RA patients). The prevalence of CPFE was higher in RA patients than in non-RA patients (40.2% vs.10.0%) at lung cancer diagnosis. During follow-up, the crude incidence rate of lung cancer-related death was 0.29 and 0.10 per patient-year (PY) in RA and non-RA patients, and 0.32 and 0.07 per PY in patients with CPFE and patients without ILD or emphysema, respectively. The estimated death probability at 5 years differed between RA and non-RA patients (66% vs. 32%, p<0.001) and between patients with CPFE and patients without ILD or emphysema (71% vs. 24%, p<0.001). In addition to clinical cancer stage and no surgery within 1 month, RA and CPFE were identified as independent predictive factors for increased lung cancer-related mortality (RA: adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 2.49; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.65-4.76; CPFE: adjusted HR 2.01; 95% CI 1.24-3.23).

CONCLUSIONS

RA patients with lung cancer had a higher prevalence of CPFE and increased cancer-related mortality compared with non-RA patients. Close monitoring and optimal treatment strategies tailored to RA patients with CPFE are important to improve the poor prognosis of lung cancer.

Cardiovascular safety, cancer and Jak-inhibitors: Differences to be highlighted

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease whose natural history leads to articular and extra-articular damage. Both cardiovascular risk and malignancy risk results higher in RA patients, compared to general population. Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKis) are oral targeted synthetic disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (tsDMARDs) that disrupt cytokine cascade and exert anti-inflammatory effects by interfering with signaling through the JAK-STAT intracellular pathways. A recent RCT comparing tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily, tofacitinib 10 mg twice daily and anti-TNF in rheumatoid arthritis demonstrated an increased risk of MACE HR 1.33 and cancer HR 1.49 at a follow-up of 4 years. This has led the FDA to class warnings for tofacitinib, baricitinib and upadacitinib. Cumulative RCT data, RCT extension data demonstrated a safety profile for Jak inhibitors. Conflicting data results from real life registries; the different selectivity for JAKs (JAK1, JAK2, JAK3 and Tyk2) probably determines differences in efficacy and safety profiles among the members of this group which should actually be evaluated. In order to better understand the cardiovascular and neoplastic risk linked to these class of drugs, we aim to provide a literature review on existing evidence of the safety of Jak-Inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis.

Use of Disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drugs After Cancer Diagnosis in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

Objective

There is no recommendation for the use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who developed cancer. We examined changes in the DMARDs prescription patterns associated with cancer diagnosis in RA patients.

Methods

We reviewed the medical records of 2,161 RA patients who visited rheumatology clinic between January 2008 and February 2017 and found 40 patients who developed cancer during RA treatment. In these patients, we examined DMARDs prescription patterns before and right after cancer diagnosis and at recent outpatient clinic visits.

Results

Before cancer diagnosis, methotrexate (MTX)-combined conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARDs) were most commonly prescribed (22, 55.0%) and biological DMARDs (biologics) in nine patients (22.5%). For cancer treatment, 19 patients received chemotherapy (including adjuvant chemotherapy) and 21 patients had surgery only. Right after cancer diagnosis, changes in the DMARDs prescription patterns were similar in discontinuation (13, 32.5%), switching (14, 35.0%), and maintenance (13, 32.5%). DMARDs were discontinued more frequently in the chemotherapy group (9/19, 47.4%) than the surgery only group (4/2, 19.0%) (p<0.05). Among the 13 patients who discontinued DMARDs, nine (69.2%) resumed DMARDs after a median of 5.5 months (interquartile range [IQR] 2.9, 18.3) due to arthritis flare. At a median of 4.6 years (IQR 3.3, 6.7) after cancer diagnosis, 25 patients were evaluated at recent outpatient clinic visits. Four patients received no DMARD, three MTX monotherapies, 11 csDMARDs combination therapies, and seven biologics.

Conclusion

A significant number of RA patients who developed cancer during RA treatment were still receiving DMARDs including biologics after cancer diagnosis.

Effect of janus kinase inhibitors and methotrexate combination on malignancy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease. The combination therapy of methotrexate (MTX) and Janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi) is commonly used. Patients with RA are at increased risk of malignancy, however, it remains unclear whether the combination therapy is associated with a higher risk.

Objective

To assess the malignancy risk among patients with RA receiving combination therapy of JAKi and MTX compared to MTX alone.

Methods

PubMed, Cochrane and Embase were thoroughly searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in patients with RA receiving JAKi and MTX, from inception to July 2020. Primary endpoints were malignancy events, Non melanomatous skin cancer (NMSC) and malignancy excluding NMSC and secondary endpoints were serious adverse events (SAE), deaths. Risk ratio (RR) and 95% CI were calculated using the Mantel–Haenszel random-effect method.

Results

659 publications were screened and 13 RCTs with a total of 6911 patients were included in the analysis. There was no statistically significant difference in malignancy [RR = 1.42; 95% CI (0.59, 3.41)], neither NMSC [RR = 1.44 (0.36, 5.76)] nor malignancies excluding NMSC [RR = 1.12 (0.40, 3.13)]. No statistically significant difference between the two groups for SAE [RR = 1.15 (0.90, 1.47)] and deaths [RR = 1.99 (0.75, 5.27)] was found.

Conclusion

The adjunction of JAKi to MTX is not associated with an increased risk of malignancy when compared to MTX alone. There is no increased risk of SAE and deaths when compared to MTX alone in patients with RA.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13317-021-00153-5.

Survival and prognostic factors of lung cancer patients with preexisting connective tissue disease: a retrospective cohort study

Background

Connective tissue diseases (CTDs) are a group of special commodities in lung cancer (LC). This study aimed to analyze the survival and prognostic factors of LC patients with preexisting CTDs.

Methods

A total of 84 LC patients with preexisting CTDs that presented at Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) were retrospectively recruited in this study between January 2000 and June 2017. Patient survival was compared using the Kaplan-Meier method. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess prognostic variables.

Results

Of the 84 LC patients, 36 (41.8%) had underlying rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 20 (23.8%) had idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM), 18 (21.4%) had Sjögren syndrome (SS), 6 (7.1%) had systemic sclerosis (SSc), and 4 (4.8%) had systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The median overall survival (OS) was 21 months (IQR, 8–72 months), and the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 61.3%, 36.7%, and 29.5%, respectively. The survival rates between different CTD subgroups, histopathologies, and disease stages were significantly different (P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that the independent prognostic factors for OS were IIM [hazard ratio (HR), 3.61; 95% confidence intervals (CI), 1.69–8.21; P=0.002], SS (HR, 2.72; 95% CI, 1.01–7.33; P=0.048), and radical resection (HR, 0.11; 95% CI, 0.04–0.35; P<0.001).

Conclusions

Different CTD subtypes and the radical resection of LC are closely related to patient prognosis. This indicates a need for both identifications of CTD types and active treatment strategies for LC.

Impact of Sustained Virologic Response with Direct-Acting Antiviral Treatment on Mortality in Patients with Advanced Liver Disease

The impact of sustained virologic response (SVR) on mortality after direct-acting antiviral treatment is not well documented. This study evaluated the impact of direct-acting antiviral-induced SVR on all-cause mortality and on incident hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in 15,059 hepatitis C virus-infected patients with advanced liver disease defined by a FIB-4 >3.25. Overall, 1,067 patients did not achieve SVR (no SVR) and 13,992 patients achieved SVR. In a mean follow-up period of approximately 1.6 years, 195 no SVR patients and 598 SVR patients died. Mortality rates were 12.3 deaths/100 patient years of follow-up for no SVR patients and 2.6 deaths/100 patient years for SVR patients, a 78.9% reduction (P < 0.001). Among patients without a prior diagnosis of HCC, 140 no SVR patients and 397 SVR patients were diagnosed with incident HCC. HCC rates were 11.5 HCCs/100 patient years for no SVR patients and 1.9 HCCs/100 patient years for SVR patients, an 83.5% reduction (P < 0.001). In multivariable Cox proportional hazard models controlling for baseline demographics, clinical characteristics, and comorbidities, SVR was independently associated with reduced risk of death compared to no SVR (hazard ratio, 0.26; 95% confidence interval, 0.22-0.31; P < 0.001). A history of decompensated liver disease (hazard ratio, 1.57; 95% confidence interval, 1.34-1.83; P < 0.001) and decreased albumin (hazard ratio, 2.70 per 1 g/dL decrease; 95% confidence interval, 2.38-3.12; P < 0.001) were independently associated with increased risk of death. Conclusion: Those achieving SVR after direct-acting antiviral treatment had significantly lower all-cause mortality and lower incident HCC rates than those who did not achieve SVR.

Direct-acting antiviral sustained virologic response: Impact on mortality in patients without advanced liver disease

The impact of sustained virologic response (SVR) on mortality after direct-acting antiviral (DAA) treatment is not well documented in patients without advanced liver disease and affects access to treatment. This study evaluated the impact of SVR achieved with interferon-free DAA treatment on all-cause mortality in hepatitis C virus-infected patients without advanced liver disease. This observational cohort analysis was comprised of 103,346 genotype 1, 2, and 3, hepatitis C virus-monoinfected patients without advanced liver disease, defined by FIB-4 ≤3.25 and no diagnosis of cirrhosis, hepatic decompensation, or hepatocellular carcinoma or history of liver transplantation, identified from the Veterans Affairs Hepatitis C Clinical Case Registry. Among 40,664 patients treated with interferon-free DAA regimens, 39,374 (96.8%) achieved SVR and 1,290 (3.2%) patients were No SVR; 62,682 patients constituted the untreated cohort. The mortality rate for SVR patients of 1.18 deaths/100 patient-years was significantly lower than the rates for both No SVR patients (2.84 deaths/100 patient-years; P < 0.001) and untreated patients (3.84 deaths/100 patient-years; P < 0.001). SVR patients with FIB-4 <1.45 and 1.45-3.25 had a 46.0% (P = 0.036) and 63.2% (P < 0.001) reduction in mortality rates, respectively, compared to No SVR patients and 66.7% (P < 0.001) and 70.6% (P < 0.001) reduction in mortality rates, respectively, compared to untreated patients. In multivariate Cox proportional hazard models controlling for baseline demographics, clinical characteristics, and comorbidities, SVR was independently associated with reduced risk of death compared to No SVR (hazard ratio, 0.44; 95% confidence interval, 0.32-0.59; P < 0.001) and compared to untreated patients (hazard ratio, 0.32; 95% confidence interval, 0.29-0.36; P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

Successfully treating hepatitis C virus with DAAs in patients without clinically apparent advanced liver disease translates into a significant mortality benefit. (Hepatology 2018).

Malignancy Incidence, Management, and Prevention in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Traditional and biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are effective medications for the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the effects of these medications on immune function raises concern that they may increase long-term cancer risk. The baseline risk for some cancers appears to differ in patients with RA compared to the general population, with the former having an increased risk of lymphoma, lung cancer and renal cancer, but a decreased risk of colorectal and breast cancer. Some DMARDs appear to increase the rate of specific cancer types (such as bladder cancer with cyclophosphamide), but few appear to increase the overall cancer risk. Studying the link between lymphoma and disease severity in RA is complicated because patients with persistently active disease are at increased risk for lymphoma, and disease severity correlates with more intense use of immunosuppressive medications. Overall, cancer risk in patients with RA is slightly above that of the general population, with the increased risk likely secondary to an increased risk of lymphomas in those with high disease activity. Risk mitigation includes management of RA disease activity as well as age- and sex-appropriate cancer screening.

Rheumatoid arthritis: Predicting mortality in RA: the quest for useful information

A new study suggests that rheumatoid arthritis does not increase cancer-related mortality in patients with cancer, particularly in those with advanced stage malignancies. Could the inclusion of quantitative measures of inflammation, physical function or socioeconomic status have changed these findings?