Treatments for juvenile idiopathic arthritis 'unlikely to raise cancer risk'

Scientists have found no evidence that treatments for juvenile idiopathic arthritis increase youngsters' risk of developing cancer.

Previous studies had suggested that some treatments for juvenile idiopathic arthritis - a group of joint diseases affecting young people under the age of 16 - may raise the risk of cancer in the years following diagnosis.

However, research presented at the American College of Rheumatology annual scientific meeting this week indicates that this is unlikely to be the case.

Researchers examined 1,168 patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis who were registered at two clinics in Canada.

Participants were typically 8.9 years old when they were diagnosed with arthritis and 67 per cent were girls.

The youngsters were followed for an average of 14 years, during which time the researchers estimated there would be six cases of invasive cancers.

However, no cancers whatsoever were identified during the follow-up period, leading the researchers to conclude that the risk of invasive cancer is not increased following a diagnosis of juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

"The results so far suggest that, at least in the initial years after juvenile idiopathic arthritis diagnosis, the risk of invasive cancer may not be greatly increased," said study author Dr Sasha Bernatsky, assistant professor at McGill University in Montreal.

However, the researcher conceded that the study was limited as it only included a small number of children from minority groups.

Because of this, the team hopes to carry out a larger study involving participants from a range of ethnic backgrounds in order to confirm their findings.

A spokesman for the Arthritis Research Campaign welcomed the findings. "Drugs such as methotrexate and anti-TNF therapy have been shown to be highly effective in children with arthritis and it is reassuring that, according to this study, youngsters are not at an increased risk of developing cancer as a result of taking these medications."

© Adfero Ltd

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