Relationship between cancer and oral pemphigoid patients with antibodies to alpha6-integrin.
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.
Malik
Mohsin
M
Department of Medicine, New England Baptist Hospital, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
Gürcan
Hakan M
HM
Christen
William
W
Ahmed
A Razzaque
AR
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
D001323:Autoantibodies; D039503:Integrin alpha6