Sarcoma in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. A systematic review.

The risk of neoplasm is elevated in patients with various autoimmune diseases. Although the overall risk of cancer in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients is slightly elevated, the standardized incidence ratio of several cancers is above 3.0. The main risk factor for neoplasm in this group is dysfunction of the immune system caused by the disease and by immunosuppressive drugs. The most common cancers in patients with SLE are related to viral latent infections caused by human herpesvirus 8, Epstein-Barr virus, and human papillomavirus. The risk of sarcoma has not been established in large cohort studies, but several case reports have been published. It remains uncertain whether there is a direct relationship between sarcoma and SLE. We performed a systematic review of case reports and case series and analyzed the detailed data of 26 SLE patients with sarcoma. The most common sarcomas were Kaposi's sarcoma and leiomyosarcoma - 2 neoplasms that are potentially related to viral infection.