Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs Do Not Increase Cancer Risk According to New Research

New research suggests that Enbrel, Remicade, Humira and other biologic TNF-blockers widely used to treat rheumatoid arthritis do not appear to cause cancer, which has been a concern associated with the drugs.

Researchers from the Spanish Foundation of Rheumatology presented data at the American College of Rheumatology’s annual meeting in San Francisco this week.

They evaluated data from two Spanish databases involving more than 4,500 rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with TNF blockers, concluding that there is no association between the use of the biologics and an increased risk of developing cancer.

Remicade, Enbrel and Humira are the most commonly used medications that are part of the class of drugs known as Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) Blockers. They are used to treat Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (previously known as Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis), Crohn’s disease and other immune system disease.

Prior studies have indicated that the use of the drugs could increase the risk of certain types of cancer, such as lung cancer and blood cancers.

Spanish researchers compared data for patients who were treated with TNF antagonists to those who did not receive the drugs, and found that the overall rate of cancer between the two groups was very close. When adjusting for age, sex and other factors, the difference was only .92%, leading the researchers to conclude that there is no association between the arthritis drugs and cancer.

In June 2008, the FDA issued an early communication about an ongoing safety review they are conducting of TNF blockers involving a possible connection with the development of lymphoma and other cancers in children and young adults. Although the early communication did not draw any conclusions about the association between the Remicade, Humira, Enbrel and cancer, the agency indicated that about 30 children using the drugs have reported developing cancer over the past 10 years.

At the time they issued the early communication, the FDA indicated that it would likely take until the end of this year before any conclusions or recommendations were released.

In September 2008, the FDA did add a “black box” warning to the drugs as a result of a different safety concern involving an increased risk of serious fungal infections. Between 1998 and 2008, the agency has received 241 reports of fungal infections known as histoplasmosis, and 45 of those cases resulted in death. The black box warning was added because many cases were going undiagnosed at first, which was delaying antifungal treatments.