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Cancer preceding Wegener's granulomatosis: a case-control study
Mikkel Faurschou1, Lene Mellemkjaer, Inge J Sorensen
1Department of Rheumatology, The National University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. baslund@rh.regionh.dk.
Rheumatology (Oxford, England)
|February 14, 2009
Summary
This study found no clear evidence that Wegener's granulomatosis (WG) patients have a higher risk of cancer before diagnosis. This suggests shared risk factors are unlikely to explain post-diagnosis cancer rates in WG.
Area of Science:
- Rheumatology
- Oncology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Previous studies suggest an increased risk of malignancies in patients with Wegener's granulomatosis (WG).
- The temporal relationship between cancer development and WG diagnosis requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the risk of malignancies in WG patients preceding or around the time of diagnosis.
- To determine if shared risk factors contribute to the excess of malignancies observed in WG patients.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 293 WG patients was compared with 10 gender- and age-matched controls per patient.
- Malignancy data were obtained from the Danish Cancer Registry.
- Prevalence odds ratios (OR) were calculated to compare cancer occurrence before WG diagnosis versus before the reference date in controls.
Main Results:
- No overall significantly increased prevalence of malignancies was found before WG diagnosis (OR 1.4).
- Testis cancer showed an increased prevalence (OR 6.4), based on two patients diagnosed >10 years prior to WG.
- Non-melanoma skin cancer prevalence was increased within 2 years before WG diagnosis (OR 4.0).
Conclusions:
- The study did not find clear evidence of increased preceding cancer prevalence in WG patients.
- Shared risk factors appear to be of minor importance for post-diagnosis malignancies in WG.
- Malignancies do not seem to play a significant role in triggering WG development.
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