ArticleRheumatology (Oxford, England)2019
Abatacept initiation in rheumatoid arthritis and the risk of cancer: a population-based comparative cohort study.
Article in Rheumatology (Oxford, England), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 3 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
23 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- Meta-Analysis of the Incidence and Influencing Factors of Malignant Tumors in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2026Pooled it
- Abatacept and the risk of malignancy: a meta-analysis across disease indications.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2025Pooled it
- Abatacept and non-melanoma skin cancer in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a comprehensive evaluation of randomised controlled trials and observational studies.Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2024Pooled it
- Article
- Cancer risk associated with abatacept among older individuals with rheumatoid arthritis in the United States.JNCI cancer spectrum · 2026Article
- Tumor safety of biologic agents and targeted therapies in immune-mediated inflammatory arthritides.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Safety of JAK inhibitors versus other biologic therapies following anti-TNF failure in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Arthritis research & therapy · 2025Article
- Immunosuppressants/Immunomodulators and Malignancy.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Pharmacotherapeutic strategies to promote regulatory T cell function in autoimmunity.Current opinion in immunology · 2025Review
- Inflammatory Pathways to Carcinogenesis: Deciphering the Rheumatoid Arthritis-Lung Cancer Connection.Cancers · 2025Review
- Patient-Centric Approach for the Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease in Older People.Drugs & aging · 2025Review
- Skin cancer prevention in the Polish population during the COVID-19 pandemic.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Management strategies in rheumatoid arthritis.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2024Review
- Use of Biologic or Targeted Synthetic Disease-Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs and Cancer Risk.JAMA network open · 2024Article
- Article
- Risk of cancer for patients with rheumatoid arthritis versus general population: a national claims database cohort study.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2023Article
- Rheumatic complications of checkpoint inhibitors: Lessons from autoimmunity.Immunological reviews · 2023Review
- Safety outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with abatacept: results from a multinational surveillance study across seven European registries.Arthritis research & therapy · 2023Article
- Article
- Checkpoint Molecules in Rheumatology-or the Benefits of Being Exhausted.Current rheumatology reports · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo assess whether abatacept as initial biological DMARD (bDMARD) in the treatment of RA, when compared with other bDMARDs, is associated with an increased risk of cancer overall and by specific cancer sites (breast, lung, lymphoma, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer).
methodsWe performed a population-based cohort study among patients newly treated with bDMARDs within the US-based Truven MarketScan population and Supplemental US Medicare from 2007 to 2014. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% CIs of any cancer (and specific cancers) associated with initiation of abatacept, compared with initiation of other bDMARDs, adjusted for age and deciles of the propensity score.
resultsThe cohort included 4328 patients on abatacept and 59 860 on other bDMARDs, of whom 409 and 4197 were diagnosed with any cancer during follow-up (incidence rates 4.76 per 100 per year and 3.41 per 100 per year, respectively). Compared with other bDMARDs, the use of abatacept was associated with an increased incidence of cancer overall (hazard ratioadjusted 1.17; 95% CI 1.06, 1.30). Analyses by specific cancer sites showed a significantly increased incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer (hazard ratioadjusted 1.20; 95% CI 1.03, 1.39), but no significant difference for other specific cancer sites.
conclusionThe use of abatacept as first bDMARD in the treatment of RA was associated with a slight increased risk of cancer overall and particularly non-melanoma skin cancer, compared with other bDMARDs. This potential signal needs to be replicated in other settings.
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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.