“Some drugs used to treat arthritis and psoriasis may increase a patient's risk of developing lymphoma.” Autoimmune disease may also lead to a higher risk of cancers of the blood, bone marrow and lymph nodes, such as leukemia and lymphoma.
Autoimmune conditions that cause inflammation in one organ can increase the risk of cancer in that organ. Examples include: Ulcerative colitis (colorectal cancer) Primary biliary cholangitis (liver and gallbladder cancer)
Autoimmune disease results from the immune response against self-antigens, while cancer develops when the immune system does not respond to malignant cells. Thus, for years, autoimmunity and cancer have been considered as two separate fields of research that do not have a lot in common.
Chemotherapy drugs used for autoimmune diseases
Cyclophosphamide frequently is used to treat RA, MS, lupus, and sarcoidosis.
The goal of chemotherapy in the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory disorders is to dampen the activity of the immune system rather than to kill abnormal cells. To achieve this goal and minimize side effects, the doses used are lower than those used in treating cancer.
Some common autoimmune diseases, including Type 1 diabetes mellitus, are relatively easy to diagnose, while others, such as vasculitis, Addison's disease, lupus, and other rheumatic diseases, are more difficult.
Asherson's syndrome is an extremely rare autoimmune disorder characterized by the development, over a period of hours, days or weeks, of rapidly progressive blood clots affecting multiple organ systems of the body.
The exact cause of autoimmune disorders is unknown. One theory is that some microorganisms (such as bacteria or viruses) or drugs may trigger changes that confuse the immune system. This may happen more often in people who have genes that make them more prone to autoimmune disorders.
Indeed, women have higher absolute levels of antibodies than men, and (auto)antibodies are also associated with most autoimmune diseases. Several facts suggest differences in antibodies may cause increased prevalence of autoimmune disease in women.
Living with an autoimmune disease can be complicated. Diseases like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis are complex and serious. Although there are no cures for these diseases, many of their symptoms can be treated, and sometimes they go into remission.
Autoimmune diseases do tend to run in families, which means that certain genes may make some people more likely to develop a problem. Viruses, certain chemicals, and other things in the environment may trigger an autoimmune disease if you already have the genes for it.
Your immune system plays a vital role in maintaining your health. Although some cancers are caused by genetic mutations, some other factors like old age and a weakened immune system can also play a significant role in causing the disease.
These include rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune thyroiditis, Sjogren's syndrome and others. Some diseases occur together more frequently, such as type 1 diabetes and celiac, because of a shared gene that predisposes for these diseases.
Around 25% of patients with an autoimmune disease tend to develop additional autoimmune diseases (6). A number of factors have been thought to contribute to the development of multiple autoimmune diseases.
Background: Autoimmune diseases are multifactorial with environmental and heritable factors. Autoimmunity reflects an altered immune status, therefore the presence of more than one disorder is not uncommon. The coexistence of three or more autoimmune diseases in a patient constitutes multiple autoimmune syndrome (MAS).
There is generally no cure, but the symptoms of autoimmune disorders can be managed.
In conventional medicine, autoimmunity is not known to be reversible.