Association of biological therapy and malignancy in inflammatory rheumatic diseases

inflammatory rheumatic diseases are chronic, progressive autoimmune diseases which affect the musculoskeletal system and other organ systems. nowadays, a large number of patients is treated with biological therapy. although biological drugs selectively affect specific molecules of the immune system, they weaken the overall immune system of the body. Therefore, the patients are more susceptible to infections and other diseases such as lymphomas, breast and skin cancers and melanomas. Chronic inflammation which occurs due to autoimmune disease is also a risk factor for malignant development. so far, studies have not proven direct correlation between biological therapy and solid or haematologic tumours. on the other hand, the increased risk for developing skin cancer in patients on tumour necrosis factor alpha inhibitors has been described. in this review paper we analysed the available medical literature on the risks for malignant disease development in patients with rheumatic diseases who are on biological disease – modifying anti-rheumatic drugs.