ReviewAuto- immunity highlights2021
Effect of janus kinase inhibitors and methotrexate combination on malignancy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Review in Auto- immunity highlights, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
11 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Safety profile and dose-dependent adverse events of upadacitinib in randomized clinical trials: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2025Pooled it
- Safety of baricitinib for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis over a median of 4.6 and up to 9.3 years of treatment: final results from long-term extension study and integrated database.Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2022Pooled it
- Comparative efficacy and safety of JAK inhibitors as monotherapy and in combination with methotrexate in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Pooled it
- Key Determinants of Cardiovascular Outcomes in Multi-Ethnic Patients With Rheumatic Disease Using JAK Inhibitors.Musculoskeletal care · 2025Article
- Evaluation of Real-World Evidence to Assess Effectiveness Outcomes of Janus Kinase Inhibitors for Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review of US Studies.Drug, healthcare and patient safety · 2025Review
- Article
- Cancer risks with JAKi and biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis: a national real-world cohort study.Annals of the rheumatic diseases · 2023Article
- [DMARD (disease-modifying antirheumatic drug) treatment in patients with former or current cancer].Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2023Review
- Upadacitinib for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Comprehensive Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, thromboembolism, and mortality in patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving Janus kinase inhibitors: a real-world retrospective observational study using Korean health insurance data.Epidemiology and health · 2023Observational
- The role of upadacitinib in the treatment of moderate-to-severe active rheumatoid arthritis.Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease · 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
4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundRheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic autoimmune disease. The combination therapy of methotrexate (MTX) and Janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi) is commonly used. Patients with RA are at increased risk of malignancy, however, it remains unclear whether the combination therapy is associated with a higher risk.
objectiveTo assess the malignancy risk among patients with RA receiving combination therapy of JAKi and MTX compared to MTX alone.
methodsPubMed, Cochrane and Embase were thoroughly searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in patients with RA receiving JAKi and MTX, from inception to July 2020. Primary endpoints were malignancy events, Non melanomatous skin cancer (NMSC) and malignancy excluding NMSC and secondary endpoints were serious adverse events (SAE), deaths. Risk ratio (RR) and 95% CI were calculated using the Mantel-Haenszel random-effect method.
results659 publications were screened and 13 RCTs with a total of 6911 patients were included in the analysis. There was no statistically significant difference in malignancy [RR = 1.42; 95% CI (0.59, 3.41)], neither NMSC [RR = 1.44 (0.36, 5.76)] nor malignancies excluding NMSC [RR = 1.12 (0.40, 3.13)]. No statistically significant difference between the two groups for SAE [RR = 1.15 (0.90, 1.47)] and deaths [RR = 1.99 (0.75, 5.27)] was found.
conclusionThe adjunction of JAKi to MTX is not associated with an increased risk of malignancy when compared to MTX alone. There is no increased risk of SAE and deaths when compared to MTX alone in patients with RA.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.