Key clinical point: Risk for first primary cancer was not significantly different among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) vs biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARD). However, excess risk cannot be ruled out among those receiving JAKi.
Major finding: Patients with RA treated with JAKi had a numerically higher but not statistically significantly higher risk for first primary cancer (hazard ratio 1.41; 95% CI 0.76-2.37) compared with those treated with bDMARD.
Study details: Findings are from an observational cohort study including patients with RA without prior cancer diagnosis who initiated JAKi (n = 875) or bDMARD (n = 4247).
Disclosures: This study received financial support from the Danish Rheumatism Association and Danish Cancer Society. Several authors declared being employees of, receiving research grants and honoraria from, participating in advisory boards of, or serving on steering committees for various sources.
Source: Westermann R et al. Cancer risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with Janus kinase inhibitors: A nationwide Danish register-based cohort study. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2023 (Apr 13). Doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/kead163