ArticleAnnals of the rheumatic diseases2023
JAK inhibitors and the risk of malignancy: a meta-analysis across disease indications.
Article in Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 79 papers, 4 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
79 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 130 citations in OpenAlex.
- Comparison of cancer risks associated with JAK inhibitors and TNF inhibitors treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of real-world cohort studies.Inflammation research : official journal of the European Histamine Research Society ... [et al.] · 2026Pooled it
- Comparative safety of interleukin inhibitors for rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of upadacitinib in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Pooled it
- Abatacept and the risk of malignancy: a meta-analysis across disease indications.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2025Pooled it
- The JAK/STAT pathway: a pivotal therapeutic target in disease and advances in natural product modulation.Molecular diversity · 2026Review
- Biologics, Janus Kinase Inhibitors, and Cancer: The Comparator on Trial.International journal of rheumatic diseases · 2026Article
- Janus Kinase Inhibitors in Atopic Dermatitis: A Global Bibliometric Analysis (2015-2025).Journal of clinical practice and research · 2026Article
- Inflammatory Manifestations, Therapeutic Interventions, and Cancer Risk in Psoriasis: Current Epidemiological and Mechanistic Evidence.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Long-term safety of intravenous human umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cell therapy in rheumatoid arthritis: a 5-year follow-up study.Stem cells translational medicine · 2026Article
- Dermatologic Toxicities Induced by JAK Inhibitors.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2026Review
- JAK inhibitors alleviate EGFR-inhibitor-induced diarrhea by protecting intestinal stem cells from adaptive-immune-exacerbated injury.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Efficacy and Safety of Biologic and Targeted Synthetic DMARDs in Young-Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Tumor safety of biologic agents and targeted therapies in immune-mediated inflammatory arthritides.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- Evolving Research Hotspots and Emerging Trends in Atopic Dermatitis and Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Bibliometric Analysis.Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology · 2026Article
- Comparative treatment persistence of upadacitinib vs. tofacitinib in psoriatic arthritis: a multicenter observational study from the BIRRA cohort.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- What to do when the first TNF inhibitor fails in rheumatoid arthritis: stratified expert recommendations from a scoping review and Delphi consensus.Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease · 2026Article
- Malignancy risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis initiating biological or targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs: a 5-year population-based cohort study.Therapeutic advances in musculoskeletal disease · 2026Article
- Review
- JAK Inhibitors for Treatment of Pyoderma Gangrenosum and Sweet Syndrome: A Systematic Review of Published Case Reports.Dermatology research and practice · 2026Review
- Safety of JAK inhibitors versus other biologic therapies following anti-TNF failure in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.Arthritis research & therapy · 2025Article
19 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
13 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectivesTo estimate the association of Janus kinase inhibitors (JAKi) with the incidence of malignancy, compared with placebo, tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α inhibitors (TNFi) and methotrexate.
methodsSystematic searches of databases were performed, to December 2022, to identify phase II/III/IV randomised clinical trials (RCTs) and long-term extension (LTE) studies of JAKi (tofacitinib, baricitinib, upadacitinib, filgotinib, peficitinib) compared with placebo, TNFi or methotrexate, in adults with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, psoriasis, axial spondyloarthritis, inflammatory bowel disease or atopic dermatitis. Network and pairwise meta-analyses were performed to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) for malignancy between JAKi and comparators. Bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias-2 tool.
resultsIn 62 eligible RCTs and 16 LTE studies, there were 82 366 person-years of exposure to JAKi, 2924 to placebo, 7909 to TNFi and 1074 to methotrexate. The overall malignancy incidence rate was 1.15 per 100 person-years in RCTs, and 1.26 per 100 person-years across combined RCT and LTE data. In network meta-analyses, the incidence of all malignancies including non-melanomatous skin cancers (NMSCs) was not significantly different between JAKi and placebo (IRR 0.71; 95% CI 0.44 to 1.15) or between JAKi and methotrexate (IRR 0.77; 95% CI 0.35 to 1.68). Compared with TNFi, however, JAKi were associated with an increased incidence of malignancy (IRR 1.50; 95% CI 1.16 to 1.94). Findings were consistent when analysing NMSC only and when analysing combined RCT/LTE data.
conclusionsJAKi were associated with a higher incidence of malignancy compared with TNFi but not placebo or methotrexate. Cancers were rare events in all comparisons. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022362630.
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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.