Studies Show Anti-TNF Drugs Don't Raise Cancer Risk
Inhibitors, or anti-TNFs, a type of biologic drug .Biologics, including anti-TNFs, work by interfering with parts of the immune system to decrease inflammation, a central feature of rheumatoid arthriti s, or RA. Because of this, there has been concern that anti-TNFs and other biologics may increase patients’ cancer risk as well as their risk for serious infections.
In the first study, a meta-analysis published in the June 2011 Arthritis & Rheumatism , researchers reviewed six trials that included a total of 2,183 RA patients taking anti-TNFs and 1,236 taking methotrexate. The patients all had early-stage RA and had not been previously treated with methotrexate or other disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs, or DMARDs. The duration of the trials were between six and 12 months.
The analysis found that 19 people taking at least one dose of an anti-TNF, including adalimumab, or Humira , developed a malignancy compared with 10 patients taking methotrexate. Researchers concluded there was no significant difference in risk.
The second study, presented in May at the 2011 European League Against Rheumatism conference in London, looked at more than 13,600 Danish patients, the majority of whom had RA, from the DANBIO registry, a nationwide database that includes all rheumatic patients receiving biological drugs. From January 2000 to the end of 2008, almost 5,600 of them had started anti-TNF treatment.
The researchers cross-referenced data from DANBIO registry with the Danish Cancer Registry and found that 181 patients ever treated with an anti-TNF developed cancer compared to 132 patients who had not taken an anti-TNF. The researchers concluded there was no statistical difference in cancer risk. After further analyzing the data, the researchers also concluded that the risk of cancer did not rise with longer-term use of anti-TNFs.
“This is a reassuring reinforcement of previous data,” says Daniel Furst, MD, professor of rheumatology at University of California, Los Angeles.
Research from 2006 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found the likelihood of malignancies was greater in people taking higher doses of anti-TNF medications than those receiving lower doses.
But Dr. Furst suggests this could be a chicken-and-egg issue: Previous research has shown that people with RA, independent of medication use, have a higher risk of cancer than people without the disease. This is possibly due to chronic stimulation of the immune system. “People who have the most disease activity are those who will get higher doses of anti-TNFs, and they already have the highest probability of getting [cancer].
Tumour Necrosis Factor - News
6/30/11 Two new studies have found no link between an increased risk of cancer and tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors, or anti-TNFs, a type of biologic drug. Biologics, including anti-TNFs, work by interfering with parts of the
Treatment with the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor etanercept (Enbrel) was safe and provided steroid-sparing effects in patients with dermatomyositis, a small pilot study found. Among 11 patients randomized to receive etanercept, five were able
BCG induces the immune system to make tumor-necrosis factor, which kills the T-cells that cause the pancreas to stop producing insulin. Faustman's team went to Iacocca's foundation for funding after repeatedly having the door slammed in their faces by
“While there may be other mechanisms at play in these medications aside from their effect on inflammation, we observed a reduced risk for diabetes in patients with RA or psoriasis who were treated with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors or
For instance, patients with a bone marrow condition related to MDS called primary myelofibrosis often feel marked improvement in symptoms when they are treated with tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors, such as Enbrel (etanercept) or thalidomide
RA, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Diabetes - Orthopedics This Week ...
Take the Multiple Choice Test Which choice best describes the patient's treatment options?
Good news for those who have excess sugar in their blood AND joint pain…Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) have found that among patients with RA or psoriasis, the risk for developing diabetes was lower for those patients who started TNF inhibitor or hydroxychloroquine.
“While there may be other mechanisms at play in these medications aside from their effect on inflammation, we observed a reduced risk for diabetes in patients with RA or psoriasis who were treated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors or hydroxycholoriquine when compared with patients who began treatment on other non-biologic DMARDs,” said Daniel Solomon, MD, MPH, in a June 21, 2011 news release. Dr. Solomon is the lead author of the study and a researcher in the Division of Rheumatology and the Division of Pharmacoepidemiology at BWH.
Researchers evaluated data gathered from 13,905 patients with RA or psoriasis with 22,493 new instances of treatment initiation. The patients were categorized based on four categories of commonly used DMARD regimens: non-biologic DMARDs, TNF inhibitors, methotrexate and hydroxychloroquine. The researchers found 267 newly diagnosed cases of diabetes:
55 cases among 3,993 patients treated with non-biologic DMARDs
80 cases among 4,623 patients treated with TNF inhibitors
82 cases among 8,195 patients treated with methotrexate
50 cases among 5,682 patients treated with hydroxychloroquine
Researchers report that the rate of newly diagnosed diabetes was highest in individuals who were treated with nonbiologic DMARDs and lowest for TNF inhibitor users. Additionally, when adjusting for other risk factors for diabetes, researchers found a reduced relative risk of diabetes in patients treated with TNF inhibitors and hydroxychloroquine compared with other non-biologic DMARDs.
Dr. Solomon added, “Our study shows an association between these two DMARDS (TNF inhibitors and hydroxychloroquine) and reduced diabetes risk, but we cannot be sure that the association is causal—that the medications are the cause of the reduced risk. Currently we are working on an NIH-sponsored [National Institutes of Health] randomized clinical trial using hydroxychloroquine in RA patients to assess for its effects on glucose and insulin. If this and other randomized clinical trials show the same relationships, then physicians may want to consider assessing their patients not only for the management of their RA or psoriasis, but also for insulin resistance.
Tumour Necrosis Factor - Bookshelf
Tumor necrosis factor, methods and protocols
Because tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) plays a pivotal role in the regulation of homeostasis and inflammatory immune responses, it offers valuable research ...Tumour necrosis factor, alpha signal transduction in rat corpus luteum apoptosis
Tumour necrosis factor and related cytotoxins
General discussion I Lymphotoxin and tumour necrosis factor as possible mediators of an inflammatory response Granger: LT-treated Meth A tumours in BALB /c ...TNF receptor associated factors (TRAFs)
This exciting new volume is up to date on the most recent advances in TRAF signal transduction.Tumor necrosis factor, structure, mechanism of action, role in disease and therapy
Help Guide Directory
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF, cachexin or cachectin formerly known as tumor necrosis factor ... Tumor necrosis factor-α can be produced ectopically in the setting of ...
Tumor necrosis factors - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tumor necrosis factors (or the TNF-family) refers to a group of ... Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is the best-known member of this class, and sometimes referred to when ...
tumor necrosis factor: Definition from Answers.com
tumor necrosis factor n. A protein produced by macrophages in the presence of an endotoxin and shown experimentally to be capable of attacking and
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha - wikidoc
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha. You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. ... Tumor necrosis factor promotes the inflammatory response, which in ...
Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)
To find antibodies, assays, and proteins associated with the Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) pathway, click on the icon for your desired gene of interest or follow links ...