NON-HODGKINS-LYMPHOMA AND OTHER CANCERS AMONG A COHORT OF PATIENTS WITH SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS

Objective. To investigate whether systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) i s associated with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or other malignant neoplasms. Methods. Data on a cohort of 1,585 patients with SLE from the nationw ide Danish Hospital Discharge Register were linked to information in t he Danish Cancer Registry to determine the occurrence of cancer during up to 15 years of followup, The expected number of cancers was calcul ated from accumulated person-years and national cancer incidence rates . Results. There was a significant excess of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma am ong the SLE patients, based on 8 cases observed against 1.5 expected ( relative risk [RR] 5.2, 95% confidence interval 2.2-10.3), In addition , a significantly increased RR was found for cancer of the lung (RR 1. 9; n = 15), the liver (RR 8.0; n = 5), and the vagina/vulva (RR 5.7; n = 3). Conclusion. There seemed to be a positive association between S LE and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Other cancers with a possible virus-rel ated etiology, such as liver and vaginal/vulva cancer, were also obser ved in excess, In addition, there was an indication of an increased ri sk of lung cancer among patients who were hospitalized for SLE.