A LONG-TERM population study in Western Australia has revealed that while patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have a lower overall cancer incidence rate (CIR) compared to the general hospitalized population, their mortality risk following a cancer diagnosis is significantly higher. The study analysed hospital records spanning three decades to investigate the relationship between RA and cancer outcomes.
Researchers examined data from 14,041 patients with RA and 33,785 matched controls using records from the Western Australia Hospital Morbidity Data Collection, Cancer Registry, and Death Registry. The study found that prior cancer diagnoses were less common in RA patients than in controls (7.6% vs. 14.2%, P < 0.01). Among participants without prior malignancies, the incidence rate of new cancer diagnoses was lower in the RA group (19.68 vs. 24.77 cases per 1,000 person-years), with an incidence rate ratio (IRR) of 0.79. This pattern remained stable over the 30-year study period.
Despite the lower overall cancer risk, RA patients exhibited a significantly higher incidence of lung cancer (IRR 1.17) and hematological malignancies (IRR 1.21). Additionally, survival following a cancer diagnosis was notably shorter for RA patients than for non-RA controls (median survival: 3.3 vs. 5.3 years, P < 0.001). Increased mortality rates were observed across most cancer subtypes, indicating that RA may exacerbate cancer-related health outcomes.
The findings suggest that while RA patients may develop cancer at a slightly lower rate, their prognosis following a cancer diagnosis is worse. This highlights the need for enhanced cancer screening and management strategies for RA patients to improve early detection and post-diagnosis care.
Aleksandra Zurowska, EMJ
Reference
Nossent J et al. Cancer Incidence and Outcome for Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Long-term Population Study in Western Australia. J Rheaumatol. 2025;52(3):219-25.
