November 05, 2014
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Immunosuppressants associated with modestly increased risk of malignancy

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Patients with inflammatory eye disease who underwent systemic immunosuppressive therapy had a moderately higher risk of malignancy than those who received corticosteroids, according to study findings.

The retrospective cohort study included 190 patients with inflammatory eye disease (IED); 132 patients were treated with systemic immunosuppression and 58 patients were treated with corticosteroids for 6 months or longer between 1985 and 2007.

Forty-four patients in the corticosteroid group and 88 patients in the immunosuppressant group had idiopathic ocular inflammation. Similar percentages of patients in each group had systemic disease. Median follow-up was 7.34 years.

Malignancies were self-reported and confirmed by medical record review.

Study results showed 25 malignancies present in 17 patients; the rates of malignancy were 2.10 per 100 person-years in the immunosuppressant group and 0.43 per 100 person-years in the corticosteroid group, according to the researchers.

The immunosuppressant group had a higher risk of having any malignancy, but not first malignancy, compared with the corticosteroid group. Nonmelanoma skin cancer and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma were the most common malignancies in the immunosuppressant group.

The risk of any malignancy was four times greater in the immunosuppressant group than in the general population; the risk was five times greater when non-melanoma skin cancer was excluded from analysis, according to the researchers.

No cancer-related deaths were observed during the study period.

Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.