In The Literature: TNF-α Antagonists in RA Patients Reduces Cancer Risk

A nationwide study, conducted in Taiwan between 1999-2011 using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database, compared the risk of cancer diagnosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who were administered the TNF-α antagonists versus non-biological disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (nbDMARDs). The study identified a significantly reduced incidence rate of cancer among patients using biologics, and modified Cox proportional hazards analysis showed a much lower risk in the biologics cohort of 4426 users of TNF-α antagonists (HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.49—0.80, P <.001). There was however an increased risk of hematological cancers in the biologics cohort.

Link to the paper in Arthritis Research and Therapy: http://bit.ly/1uVJHWe