title: Relationship between cancer and oral pemphigoid patients with antibodies to alpha6-integrin.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mucous membrane pemphigoid is an autoimmune mucocutaneous blistering disease. A subset, known as anti-epiligrin cicatricial pemphigoid is associated with a high risk for malignancy. Oral pemphigoid (OP) is limited to the oral cavity. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between malignancy and patients with OP with antibodies to alpha6-integrin subunit.
  
  
  METHODS
  We determined the incidence of cancer in 72 patients with OP and compared it to the expected incidence using age and sex-specific rates of malignancy in the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (NCI SEER) Registry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  During a mean observation period of 9.1 years (range: 2.8-40), for 70, three OP patients developed malignancies. The expected number of cancers based on the NCI SEER Registry was 8.83. The relative risk for cancer in OP patients, with autoantibodies to alpha6-integrin, was 0.34 (95% CI, 0.07-0.99, P < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It appears that patients with OP, with antibodies to alpha6, may have a possible reduced relative risk for developing cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, New England Baptist Hospital, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Mohsin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Malik
authors.forename: Hakan M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Gürcan
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Christen
authors.forename: A Razzaque
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Ahmed
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000032:analysis; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D039503:Integrin alpha6 / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D010391:Pemphigoid, Bullous / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D018426:SEER Program; D012737:Sex Factors
chemical_list: D001323:Autoantibodies; D039503:Integrin alpha6