RESEARCH - Autoimmune disease in individuals and close family members and susceptibility to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

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Arthritis Rheum. 2008 Feb 29;58(3):657-666 [Epub ahead of print]

Autoimmune disease in individuals and close family members and

susceptibility to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Mellemkjaer L, Pfeiffer RM, Engels EA, Gridley G, Wheeler W, Hemminki

K, Olsen JH, Dreyer L, Linet MS, Goldin LR, Landgren O.

Danish Cancer Society, Copenhagen, Denmark.

OBJECTIVE: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus

(SLE), and Sjögren's syndrome have been consistently associated with

an increased risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). This study was

initiated to evaluate the risks of NHL associated with a personal or

family history of a wide range of autoimmune diseases. METHODS: A

population-based case-control study was conducted that included 24,728

NHL patients in Denmark (years 1977-1997) and Sweden (years 1964-1998)

and 55,632 controls. Using univariate logistic and hierarchical

regression models, we determined odds ratios (ORs) of NHL associated

with a personal history of hospital-diagnosed autoimmune conditions.

Risks of NHL associated with a family history of the same autoimmune

conditions were assessed by similar regression analyses that included

25,941 NHL patients and 58,551 controls. RESULTS: A personal history

of systemic autoimmune diseases (RA, SLE, Sjögren's syndrome, systemic

sclerosis) was clearly linked with NHL risk, both for individual

conditions (hierarchical odds ratios [OR(h)] ranged from 1.6 to 5.4)

and as a group (OR(h) 2.64 [95% confidence interval (95% CI)

1.72-4.07]). In contrast, a family history of systemic autoimmune

diseases was modestly and nonsignificantly associated with NHL (OR(h)

1.31 [95% CI 0.85-2.03]). An increased risk of NHL was found for a

personal history of 5 nonsystemic autoimmune conditions (autoimmune

hemolytic anemia, Hashimoto thyroiditis, Crohn's disease, psoriasis,

and sarcoidosis) (OR(h) ranged from 1.5 to 2.6) of 27 conditions

examined.

CONCLUSION: Overall, our results demonstrate a strong relationship of

personal history of systemic autoimmune diseases with NHL risk and

suggest that shared susceptibility may explain a very small fraction

of this increase, at best. Positive associations were found for a

personal history of some, though far from all, nonsystemic autoimmune

conditions.

PMID: 18311836

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18311836

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