The incidence and mortality of cancer among autoimmune diseases (AID) was studied in a large Chinese cohort, demonstrating that while onset time and risks vary, there is an increased risk of malignancy in AID.

Socioeconomic status (SES) often associates with poorer outcomes in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients; and a current study suggests this is unrelated to healthcare access issues.

In a phase III trial, oral tacrolimus (Prograf) proved non-inferior to intravenous cyclophosphamide for treating lupus nephritis, researchers said.

Administrative claims analysis of biologic use in psoriasis (PsO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in French health insurance databases shows that despite widespread biologic use, overall drug persistence (beyond 3 years) was low for PsO and PsA biologics.

The NEJM has published the results of the BRAVE-AA1 and BRAVE-AA2 trials, demonstrating that baricitinib is effective at regrowing hair in alopecia areata (AA) patients, thus paving the way for future regulatory approval for this difficult to treat disorder. 

A study of men with gout from the US Veteran’s Health Administration (VHA) shows that excess mortality in gout could be attributed to comorbidities.

A Nordic multinational collaborative study examined the risk of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in rheumatoid arthritis and found a less than 2 fold increased risk of ACS patients initiating biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) with little risk variation with short-ter

A prospective, longitudinal systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) cohort study examined outcomes and showed that failure to control SLE was common and associated with poorer outcomes including organ damage, glucocorticoid exposure, poor quality of life, and increased mortality.

In patients with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee, intra-articular injections of steroids did not increase rates of either disease progression or subsequent knee replacement surgery, researchers said.

An interesting study in Lancet Rheumatology shows that psoriatic arthritis patients not responding to methotrexate alone can respond after adding or escalating adalimumab (ADA) on top of methotrexate (MTX) to reach minimal disease activity (MDA) response. 

This week we're going to talk about the downside of TNF inhibitors, a few interesting observations in gout, and yes, kids do get COVID. We're also going to preview what's coming in April (hint: it's about PsA). This and more as Dr. Jack Cush reviews the news and journal articles from the past week on RheumNow.com.

The NEJM reports that systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients treated with iberdomide, a cereblon modulator, was effective at yielding a significant SRI-4 clinical response after 24 weeks. 

Rheumatoid arthritis associated bronchiectasis (RA-BR) is uncommon, and is unrelated to interstitial lung disease (ILD), but like ILD, can substantially impact RA outcomes.