HMN 2026: How Cancer risk rises with autoimmune disorders but drops after anti-inflammatory therapy,

When patients start getting treated for conditions like psoriatic arthritis, or connective tissue diseases like lupus and systemic sclerosis, their heightened risk of cancer gradually decreases, according to a new five-year study tracking people with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMID). Scientists theorize that the anti-inflammatory treatment for these diseases provides potential protective effects, reversing the increased cancer risk caused by high inflammation.

These conclusions are the work of researchers collaborating with the Sbarro Health Research Organization (SHRO), led by Antonio Giordano, MD, Ph.D., in a report of new findings from the first nationwide Italian study examining cancer risk in patients with IMID-related conditions. IMID-related conditions include rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders. The paper is published in the journal Cancers.

“As a rheumatologist, I find this nationwide Italian study pivotal in quantifying the 32% increased cancer risk in IMID patients, reinforcing the urgency of the emerging field of ‘onco-rheumatology,'” says Daniela Marotto Può, doctor at Azienda Socio-Sanitaria Locale della Gallura in Sardinia, Italy, and co-senior author of the paper.

“The evidence that risk peaks early after diagnosis suggests that chronic inflammation, rather than just treatment, drives oncogenesis. These findings are crucial for implementing standardized, age-stratified cancer surveillance protocols within our clinical practice. Ultimately, this work supports early, aggressive anti-inflammatory strategies as a potential means to mitigate long-term malignancy risks.”

Analyzing data from more than 356,000 patients over a five-year period, the study provides comprehensive epidemiological evidence that individuals with IMID face a significantly increased risk of developing cancer compared to the general population.

“This is the first Italian study conducted on a national scale using a large sample size,” notes Professor Giovanni Baglio, head of the Research Unit at AGENAS, the Italian National Agency for Regional Healthcare Services, and co-senior author. “The findings will inform future research and set a new standard of prevention and screening protocols for patients with IMID.”

Data analyses performed by Dr. Barbara Giordani, senior researcher at AGENAS, suggest that the statistical association is higher in the first year after diagnosis and then progressively decreases over the follow-up years.

The findings show that cancer risk is highest within the first year following IMID diagnosis, with a gradual decline in subsequent years. This temporal pattern suggests that chronic inflammation, rather than treatment effects, may play a central role in driving cancer development.

“Our results support the concept that inflammation is a key contributor to cancer risk in these patients,” said Giordano, founder and director of SHRO. “The sharp increase in risk immediately after diagnosis, followed by a decline over time, points to disease-related mechanisms rather than therapeutic exposure.”

The study identified particularly strong associations with lung cancer, hematologic malignancies such as leukemia and lymphoma, bladder cancer, and melanoma. Patients with diffuse connective tissue diseases demonstrated a higher overall cancer risk compared to those with rheumatoid arthritis.

Importantly, the consistency of these findings with international data reinforces the need for enhanced cancer surveillance strategies in IMID patients, especially during the first year after diagnosis. The results also suggest that early anti-inflammatory interventions may help mitigate long-term cancer risk.

The authors highlight several priorities for future research, including the identification of specific inflammatory biomarkers that can better predict cancer risk and guide clinical management.

These findings contribute to the growing field of onco-rheumatology, examining the intersection of autoimmune disease, inflammation, and cancer, and may inform both screening protocols and therapeutic strategies aimed at improving patient outcomes.

Clinical categories

RheumatologyOncology

Provided by

Sbarro Health Research Organization (SHRO)