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COPYRIGHT 2003 International Medical News Group
The Food and Drug Administration is continuing to investigate whether treatment with tumor necrosis factor antagonists increases lymphoma.
While reports of lymphoma in patients treated with TNF blockers are rare, it is biologically plausible that these agents could cause lymphoma because of their immunosuppressive effects. However, confounding factors make this possible causal link difficult to assess.
In clinical trials, lymphomas have been reported in patients receiving etanercept (Enbrel) and infliximab (Remicade), both approved in 1998 to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and with adalimumab (Humira), approved to treat RA in December 2002. In these trials, the observed rates of lymphoma have been higher than the rates observed in the general population. And since etanercept and infliximab became available, there have...
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