Rheumatic manifestations of malignancy

Rheumatic manifestations of malignancy include a wide spectrum of osteoarticular, muscular, glandular, endocrinologic, and systemic features, posing a therapeutic challenge. The clinician should be aware that Sjögren's syndrome, polymyositisdermatomyositis, rheumatoid and rheumatoid-like arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica and temporal arteritis, and diverse osteomuscular conditions may be the immunopathogenic features of a neoplasm, the direct consequence of osteomuscular tumors, the effect of tumor-associated hormones, or the consequence of cancer therapy. The principal articles that have appeared in the past year on these associations are discussed. We also review the association of x-ray irradiation and cancer in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.