The frequency with which rheumatic disorders occur when malignant neoplasms first present is unknown, and the significance of rheumatic conditions as cancer markers is unappreciated.
Patients admitted to a medical ward of a general hospital (Bnai Zion Medical Center, Haifa, Israel) during a 10-year period were surveyed. The frequency of the diagnostic evaluation of rheumatic disorders resulting in uncovering occult neoplasia at the time of index hospitalization and during the 2-year follow-up period was assessed.
The incidence of occult cancer among patients admitted to a general medical ward with previously unclarified rheumatic disorders was 23.1%. Seventy-two percent of the group of patients with rheumatic diseases and occult cancer were male; 69% with rheumatic disease without cancer (control group) were female. The median age in the group with occult cancer was an average of 10 years older than the group without cancer, 67 versus 57 years (P < 0.001). Weight loss or anemia occurred in 52% of the group with occult cancer and in 37.3% of the control cases (not significant). Typically, there were no distinguishing features of the rheumatic syndromes suggesting the coexistence of cancer. In 19 of 25 cases, the malignancy was uncovered by routine examinations. In four instances, neoplasia was not immediately apparent but was identified in a specific search. In two cases, no search for malignancy initially was undertaken, and Hodgkin's lymphoma was diagnosed 6 and 12 months later. In 9 of 25 cases, long term remission of neoplasia was achieved by cancer therapy with improvement of rheumatic manifestations coinciding with regression.
A significant number of patients who are referred to a general medical ward for evaluation of previously unclassified rheumatic disorders may be found to have a previously undetected malignancy. For most patients, the symptoms of cancer are found by routine physical and laboratory examinations. The importance of the association of rheumatic disorders and malignancy requires greater awareness, appreciation, and clinical study.