© 2005 by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & European League Against Rheumatism
LEADER
Rheumatoid arthritis
Risk of lymphoma in patients with RA treated with anti-TNF
agents
ARC Epidemiology Unit, Manchester University Medical School, Manchester M13 9PT, UK
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Professor A J Silman
a.silman@manchester.ac.uk
Does anti-TNF
treatment increase lymphoma risk independently of disease severity?
Keywords: anti-tumour necrosis factor; lymphomas; rheumatoid arthritis; cancer
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Tumour necrosis factor (TNF), is a proinflammatory cytokine central to the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Drugs that block the action of this cytokine have been shown to be effective in reducing inflammation and slowing disease progression in patients with RA.1,2 TNF also provides an essential immune function by promoting a cytotoxic response from T cells against B cell lymphomas.3,4 This raises a theoretical concern that agents blocking TNF may contribute to an increased risk of such lymphomas, emphasising the need for long term safety surveillance of these drugs. These phenomena need to be considered against the background that the occurrence of lymphoma in patients with RA might be associated with disease activity or severity. If this were so, given the effectiveness of anti-TNF agents, it is possible that their use may actually reduce lymphoma risk, or at least counteract any possible increase.
There is good evidence
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