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. 2017 Dec 29;12(12):e0190182.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0190182. eCollection 2017.

Cancer risk in Korean patients with Behçet's disease: A nationwide population-based study

Yoon Suk Jung  1 , Minkyung Han  2 , Do Young Kim  3 , Jae Hee Cheon  4 , Sohee Park  5
Affiliations

Cancer risk in Korean patients with Behçet's disease: A nationwide population-based study

Yoon Suk Jung et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Background: Various immune-mediated diseases are associated with increased malignancy risks. However, the relationship between Behçet's disease (BD) and cancer remains unclear. We conducted a nationwide, population-based study to determine the risk of cancer in patients with BD.

Methods: Using National Health Insurance claims records, we collected data from 2402 patients diagnosed with BD between 2013 and 2014. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of overall and site-specific cancers in patients with BD in comparison with the general population were calculated.

Results: The risks of overall cancer (SIR, 3.54; 95% confidence interval, 2.35-5.11 in men and 2.17; 1.58-2.92 in women) and solid cancer (3.10; 1.94-4.69 in men and 2.13; 1.52-2.90 in women) were greater in patients with BD than in the general population. There were significantly increased risks for these solid cancers: colorectal (4.26; 1.38-9.94), liver (4.00; 1.09-10.25), bone/articular cartilage (55.66; 1.41-310.14), prostate (7.05; 1.45-20.60), and brain/central nervous system (28.32; 3.43-102.31) in men; and the lips/oral cavity/pharynx (13.97, 1.69-50.47), liver (12.78; 5.14-26.33), lungs (4.35; 1.18-11.13), other female genital organs (53.57; 1.36-298.49), and eyes (128.26; 3.24-714.59) in women. Patients with BD had a greater risk of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) than the general population did (65.72; 7.96-237.41 in men and 53.86; 11.11-157.40 in women), but not of hematological cancer.

Conclusions: Compared to the general population, Korean patients with BD had greater risks of overall cancer, some solid cancers, and MDS, but not of hematological cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Incidence of Behçet’s disease by sex and age group from 2013 to 2014.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Flow chart of the study process.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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