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Use of antimalarial agents appears to reduce the risk of malignancy in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), Spanish researchers report in the June issue of the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases.
"Antimalarials have consistently shown to improve survival in patients with SLE," lead investigator Dr. G. Ruiz-Irastorza told Reuters Health, "and it is possible that some kind of protection against neoplasms may account in part for such effect."
Dr. Ruiz-Irastorza of the University of the Basque Country, Bizkaia and colleagues came to this conclusion after a prospective observational study of 235 patients.
Patients were assessed on average every 3 months and median follow-up time was 10 years. In total, 156 (66%) of the patients had been treated with malaria drugs at some point.
Only 2 of the patient who had received antimalarials (1.3%) developed cancer, compared to 11 (13%) of those who had not received such agents. The adjusted hazard ratio for cancer among antimalarial users compared to non-users was 0.15.
The researchers call for further studies, but, concluded Dr. Ruiz-Irastorza, "unless contraindicated, antimalarials should be included in the treatment of every patient with SLE, irrespective of the severity of the disease."
Ann Rheum Dis 2007;66:815-817.
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