LEADER

Scleroderma

Risk of cancer in patients with scleroderma

J E Pearson, A J Silman

ARC Epidemiology Unit, School of Epidemiology and Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Room 2.514, Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor A Silman;
alan.silman@man.ac.uk

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Risk of cancer may be slightly increased, but extra screening is not necessary

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Keywords: scleroderma; cancer; cohort study

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The first report linking cancer with scleroderma (Scl) was 50 years ago when a case of alveolar cell carcinoma was described.¹ Since then there have been several further case reports and series linking Scl with cancer at various sites.² The sites of cancer most frequently reported are the lung^3,4 and breast⁵ (perhaps reflecting their prevalence in the general population), but cancers at other sites have also been reported.^2,6 In this issue of the Annals there is a report of an Australian population study on Scl and cancer.⁷ The authors showed a doubling in the risk of all cancers over an average six year follow up period, with the lung being the site at greatest risk. It is thus timely to consider all the evidence suggesting this association is real and then explore some of the possible underlying explanations.

It is necessary to compare the incidence of cancer occurring in . . . [Full text of this article]

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