Rheumatic diseases and malignancies.

Abstract

There are many studies which demonstrate a higher risk for malignancy in patients with rheumatic diseases. There have been a number of possible explanations for the differences in the risk of certain malignancies in patients with rheumatic disease, compared with general population, but a clear mechanism is difficult to identify.Rheumatoid syndromes may be associated with malignancy as paraneoplastic conditions, which can antedate the neoplasm diagnosis.On the other hand, autoimmune rheumatic diseases have a higher risk of malignancy by themselves or because of the immunosuppressant treatments.