Systemic lupus erythematosus is associated with increased incidence of hematologic malignancies: A meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies

Our objective was to define the risk of lymphoma, leukemia and myeloma in adult patients with SLE with a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. A literature search from 1995 to 2013 revealed eight studies evaluating this association. The outcome of interest was the standardized incidence ratio (SIR). Our study included 401 cases in a cohort of approximately 68,000 SLE patients, and showed an increased incidence of all hematologic malignancies (SIR 2.9), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (SIR 5.7), Hodgkin lymphoma (SIR 3.1), leukemia (SIR 2.3) and myeloma (SIR 1.5) in SLE patients compared with the general population. The increased SIR was consistent regardless of age, sex or geographical region.