ArticleAnnals of the rheumatic diseases2017
Risk of invasive melanoma in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with biologics: results from a collaborative project of 11 European biologic registers.
Article in Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 63 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
63 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 185 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- 2021 American College of Rheumatology Guideline for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis.Arthritis care & research · 2021Guideline
- Trial
- Tumor safety of biologic agents and targeted therapies in immune-mediated inflammatory arthritides.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Risk factors for steroid-refractory in immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced colitis: a retrospective cohort study.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Article
- The Intersection of Psoriasis and Neoplasia: Risk Factors, Therapeutic Approaches, and Management Strategies.Cancers · 2024Review
- Biologics Versus JAK Inhibitors. Part I: Cancer Risk. A Narrative Review.Dermatology and therapy · 2024Review
- Solid Cancers and Rheumatoid Arthritis.Cancers · 2023Article
- Safety outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with abatacept: results from a multinational surveillance study across seven European registries.Arthritis research & therapy · 2023Article
- Therapeutic Potential of Targeting the NLRP3 Inflammasome in Rheumatoid Arthritis.Inflammation · 2023Review
- Skin Cancer Correlations in Psoriatic Patients.Cancers · 2023Review
- [DMARD treatment and skin cancer : Recognition, state of knowledge and prevention].Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2023Review
- Rheumatoid arthritis study of the Egyptian College of Rheumatology (ECR): nationwide presentation and worldwide stance.Rheumatology international · 2023Article
- Malignancies in systemic rheumatic diseases: A mini review.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Systemic Sclerosis Association with Malignancy.Clinical reviews in allergy & immunology · 2022Review
- Treatment of rheumatic adverse events of cancer immunotherapy.Best practice & research. Clinical rheumatology · 2022Review
- [Management of inflammatory rheumatic diseases during and after malignancies].Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2022Article
- [Celebrating 33 years of the DRFZ: Epidemiology and Health Services Research].Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2022Review
- The second decade of anti-TNF-a therapy in clinical practice: new lessons and future directions in the COVID-19 era.Rheumatology international · 2022Review
- [What can registries contribute to health services research?]Pravention und Gesundheitsforderung · 2022Review
3 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
17 authors at 12 institutions in 9 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesSome studies have reported a possible association between exposure to tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors and an increased risk of melanoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of invasive cutaneous melanomas in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with TNF inhibitors (TNFi), other biologic disease modifying drugs and non-biologic therapy.
methodsEleven biologic registers from nine European countries participated in this collaborative project. According to predefined exposure definitions, cohorts of patients with RA were selected. Using the country-specific general population of each register as reference, age, sex and calendar year standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) of invasive histology-confirmed cutaneous melanoma were calculated within each register. Pooled SIR and incidence rate ratios (IRRs) comparing biologic cohorts to biologic-naïve were calculated across countries by taking the size of the register into account.
resultsOverall 130 315 RA patients with a mean age of 58 years contributing 579 983 person-years were available for the analysis and 287 developed a first melanoma. Pooled SIRs for biologic-naïve, TNFi and rituximab-exposed patients were 1.1 (95% CI 0.9 to 1.4), 1.2 (0.99 to 1.6) and 1.3 (0.6 to 2.6), respectively. Incidence rates in tocilizumab and abatacept-exposed patients were also not significantly increased. IRR versus biologic-naïve patients were: TNFi 1.1 (95% CI 0.8 to 1.6); rituximab 1.2 (0.5 to 2.9).
conclusionsThis large European collaborative project did not confirm an overall increased risk of melanoma following exposure to TNFi.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.