Risk of cancer and conventional syntethic DMARDS: A narrative review

Thelma Skare¹, Jozélio Freire de Carvalho²
¹Department of Rheumatology, Hospital Evangélico Mackenzie, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
²Núcleo de Pesquisa em Doenças Crônicas não Transmissíveis (NUPEN), School of Nutrition from the Federal University of Bahia, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

Immunosuppressors and immunomodulators are widely used for the treatment of rheumatic diseases. Among them are the conventional Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) such as methotrexate, azathioprine, antimalarials, cyclosporine, etc. These drugs can induce remission or control inflammation, improving patients' outcomes. Nevertheless, there is some concern that these drugs may have a carcinogenic potential, favoring the appearance of tumors. Herein, a narrative review of malignancy risk after using conventional DMARDs is done. (NCI-2023-12-14)

Keywords: Cancer; disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; DMARDs; immunosuppressive drugs.

Sorumlu Yazar: Jozélio Freire de Carvalho

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