Grant: Dissemination Events - PA: Musculoskeletal Hlth, Arthritis, Skin & Oral Health

In work completed over the past decade, our research group has shown that individuals with certain autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have an increased susceptibility to certain types of cancer. For example, in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), a several-fold increased risk is seen in SLE, versus the general population. It has long been suspected that immunosuppressive drugs play a role in this risk, but there may be other important driving factors as well. Lupus disease activity may itself heighten the risk of lymphoma in diseases like SLE. Additionally, cervical cancer risk may be increased in SLE, particularly with immunosuppressive drug use. An impaired ability to clear cancer-related viruses in SLE (due to the disease and/or immunosuppression) may contribute to this risk and may also drive the risk for other cancers (such as liver cancers) in SLE. On the positive side, one new and significant finding is that SLE patients seem to have a decreased risk of certain non-hematologic cancers (breast, ovarian, endometrial, and prostate).The reduced risk of these hormone-sensitive suggest that estrogen metabolism differences may be important. On the other hand, it is possible that some drug exposures in SLE may actually be beneficial with respect to cancer risk. Aspirin and non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs are known to be potentially protective for a number of cancers while corticosteroids may also mediate cancer risk. Finally, the decreased incidence of certain cancers in SLE could be correlated to specific genetic factors that put an individual at risk for SLE, but protect against things like breast cancer; again, this hypothesis remains to be tested. In the context of the current application, we seek funds in order to host an international meeting of multidisciplinary researchers, in order to discuss the implications for our team's work, beyond the domain of rheumatic disease research.