UNLABELLED Aim of this study was to identify the
association between
dermatomyositis and
malignancy in
China.
METHODS:
We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 115 cases of
dermatomyositis associated with
malignancy.
RESULTS:
From 1974 to 2008, there were 678 cases of
dermatomyositis collected from the Second Affiliated
Hospital,
Sun Yat-Sen
University,
China. Among them, 115 cases (17.0%) were associated with
malignancy. 7.4% (22/297) of
patients under 40 years old were diagnosed with malignant
tumor, while 24.4% (93/381) of
patients aged 40 years or above were associated with
malignancy.
Malignancy preceded
dermatomyositis in 14 cases.
Dermatomyositis and
malignancy were diagnosed at the same
time in 22
patients. Another 79
patients were found to have
cancer within 3 years after the
dermatomyositis was diagnosed. Among them,
cancer was detected in 66
patients in the first year, 11
patients in the second year and only 2
patients in the third year.
Nasopharyngeal cancer made up 51.3% (59/115) of the associated
malignancies, while
lung cancer accounted for 17.4% (20/115). Other
malignancies associated with
dermatomyositis included
liver cancer,
ovarian cancer, cervical
lymph node metastases of unknown origin, cholangial
cancer, esophageal cancer, colon cancer, laryngeal cancer, renal cancer, tongue cancer and
lymphoma.
CONCLUSIONS:
Dermatomyositis associated with
malignancy was more common in
patients aged 40 years or above.
Malignancy was often detected within the first year after the onset of
dermatomyositis. The most common
malignancy associated with
dermatomyositis was
nasopharyngeal cancer, followed by
lung cancer in Guangdong,
China.