title: Risk of cancer in patients with biopsy-proven giant cell arteritis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Results of previous studies investigating the association between GCA and malignancy are conflicting. We performed a study of the risk of cancer in patients with biopsy-proven GCA.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with biopsy-proven GCA were identified from pathology reports of temporal artery biopsies from the major pathology laboratories in South Australia (SA). All subjects with biopsy-proven GCA were linked to the SA Cancer Registry to identify cases of cancer until 31 December 2006. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) for cancer were determined using the age- and gender-specific rates for SA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 226 cases of biopsy-proven GCA (163 females and 63 males). Thirty-one cases were diagnosed with cancer, following the diagnosis of biopsy-proven GCA. There was no increased risk of cancer among those with biopsy-proven GCA, following the diagnosis of GCA compared with the general population (SIR 1.2; 95% CI 0.8, 1.6).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This cohort study did not demonstrate any increased risk for malignancy in subjects with biopsy-proven GCA.
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Unit, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woodville, Australia. catherine.hill@health.sa.gov.au
authors.forename: Catherine L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cole
authors.forename: Maureen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rischmueller
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dodd
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Coleman
authors.forename: Graeme
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Roberts-Thomson
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D013700:Giant Cell Arteritis / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012307:Risk Factors; D013021:South Australia / Q000453:epidemiology