Taiwanese Study Links Ankylosing Spondylitis to Higher Risk of Certain Cancers
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Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients must be screened for certain cancers due to their higher risk, a study from Taiwan warns.
The study, “Ankylosing spondylitis and the risk of cancer,” appeared in the journal Oncology Letters. It aimed to assess whether AS is associated with an increased cancer risk.
AS, a chronic inflammatory disease, is fairly common around the world, affecting mainly young men. It main symptoms are back pain and stiffness in the spine, but AS also affects the heart, lungs, eyes and colon.
Several studies have established that patients with chronic inflammation have an increased risk of developing cancer, since certain proteins — such as cytokines, which are secreted by the body during inflammation — can provide an environment that might trigger malignancies. Yet the current evidence linking AS to cancer has been controversial.
To learn more, a team at Taipei Medical University analyzed data from 5,452 AS patients and 21,808 sex- and age-matched controls without the disease. Researchers collected data between 2000 and 2008 from the Taiwanese National Health Insurance Research Database.
They found that 57.8 percent of AS patients developed cancer within three years of being diagnosed with their AS diagnosis.
Compared to controls, male AS patients had a higher probability of developing bone and prostate cancer, while female patients were more likely to get colon cancer. Both sexes had an equally increased risk of developing hematological malignancies.
Furthermore, AS patients had an earlier onset of cancer than patients with cancer but without AS. Cancer-free survival was also significantly lower in AS patients.
Although the current study had a large sample size and a relatively long follow-up period, it was limited in that the database used did not contain certain key information such as the level of medical attention and biochemical test results. Nevertheless, the study provides evidence to link AS with higher cancer risk.
These findings have important implications for cancer screening in AS patients.
“Tumor screening during the first three years following the diagnosis of AS provides a chance for early detection of hematological malignancies in males and females, prostate cancer in males, and colon cancer in females,” the team said.
Home Strohschein
I wonder if this might be connected to Orient genetics. I don’t see the evidence for it in the USA. Without being considered “racist” there are some genetic differences that do make a difference with health issues.
Thomas Grinnell
I have severe ankylosing spondylitis and I am of O negative blood. So, as I am also HLA=B27 positive I wonder if my ancestry is related to aliens and they spent ling periods in space, possibly in suspended animation. Once here on Earth, the HLA B27 gene is activated by a higher gravity environment the body/blood type is not used to so it causes fusion of the joints to compensate for increased gravity. I know this is a real shot in the dark but I have always struggled in hot and wet environments and this is why I wonder if I have alien ancestry and they spent long periods in suspended animation which also may be a cause of insulin dependent diabetes. I know I am reaching but I always felt as I was from somewhere else. I also think that bacteria not found on the aliens home world may activate the gene. As I said, this is a real shot in the dark but the idea fascinates me for now.
Thomas Grinnell
I would appreciate any information of predominant blood types as well for A.S. and as my eye color is also blue and I have Nordic ancestry this all seems to be somewhat relevant so if anyone has similar ideas, please post them as ANY DATA would be appreciated and as HLA-B27 is known as human leukocyte antigen it makes me also wonder if the body is fighting a environment hostile to the systems origins. I do much better in cold and dry environments like outer space is so of you feel in any way similar, please post any related information.
Caroll Grandmaison
I have recurrent eye redness that does not show inflammation so my eye specialist suggested the HBL-B27 blood test. I will post my results in a few weeks if I'm positive or not.
Caroll Grandmaison
Correction: HLA-B27 Blood test and not HBL-B27 blood test.