ArticleACR open rheumatology2026
Association Between Rheumatoid Arthritis and Survival After Cancer: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-analysis.
Article in ACR open rheumatology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveEvidence on cancer outcomes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is limited and conflicting. We conducted a systematic review to evaluate the association between RA and overall survival among patients with cancer.
methodsA comprehensive literature search from inception through November 2024 identified observational studies evaluating mortality after cancer diagnosis in patients with RA. Study quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale, and mortality estimates (RA with cancer vs cancer alone) were pooled using inverse variance weighting and random effects models in RevMan.
resultsTwenty studies met our eligibility criteria. A total of 59,299 patients with both RA and any type of cancer were included, whereas 1,761,008 patients with cancer only were included. Compared with patients with cancer alone, those with RA and cancer did not have a significant difference in mortality (pooled hazard ratio [HR] 1.13; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.90-1.42). There was significantly worse survival in patients with RA and lung cancer (HR 1.22; 95% CI 1.01-1.46), RA and hematologic malignancies (HR 1.20; 95% CI 1.04-1.37), and RA and breast cancer (pooled HR 1.41; 95% CI 1.22-1.63). Results for other cancer types were inconclusive across studies. All studies were of generally good quality, and no major publication bias was identified.
conclusionPatients with both RA and cancer overall do not experience poorer survival compared to patients with cancer alone. However, survival significantly worsens for patients with RA with lung, hematologic, or breast malignancies. Future prospective studies are warranted to elucidate underlying mechanisms and optimize cancer management strategies in RA.
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.