[Medication treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with a history of malignancy. Epidemiological data]

INTRODUCTION: Only insufficient data are available regarding the question whether treatment with immunosuppressants or biologicals is feasible and safe in patients with a history of malignancy. METHOD: Literature search via PubMed, EULAR abstracts and ACR abstracts from 2013 to 2015. RESULTS: The Societe Francaise de Rhumatologie, the Canadian Rheumatology Association and the American College of Rheumatology have tried to make recommendations on this topic. Direct evidence mainly originates from data in three national registries which suggest that treatment with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors and rituximab appears to be safe for carefully selected patients, at least if there is a longer interval between treatment with biologicals and oncological treatment. Furthermore, despite partly conflicting data all routine drugs for treating rheumatoid arthritis do not seem to show a consistently increased risk of de novo malignancies. The currently available data are presented for each drug of interest. CONCLUSION: Taking the current literature into account an attempt is made to formulate an algorithm for the medicinal treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and a history of malignancy.