Systemic sclerosis & Raynaud's
Incidence of malignancy in systemic sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors' conclusion
Our findings confirm an increased malignancy risk, particularly lung, haematological and cervical malignancies, and an approximate 7-year interval between SSc diagnosis and malignancy development.
Study context
- Population
- SSc patients in cohort studies reporting standardised incidence ratios (SIRs) of malignancies; Embase, MEDLINE and Cochrane Library searched from inception to 7 December 202431 cohort studies, at least 32,134 SSc patients
- Outcome
- SIR of malignancy (overall and by subtype)
Methodological detailsrandom-effects models, Newcastle-Ottawa Scale quality assessment
- Random-effects models
- Newcastle-Ottawa Scale quality assessment
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Overall malignancy risk
Overall malignancy SIR
1.66
95% CI 1.32–2.08
Further pooled results
Esophageal, liver, cervical, lung and haematological malignancies (highest risks)
- SIR range
- 3.35 - 13.95
- High-quality studies confirmed except for esophageal malignancy; only one high quality study for liver malignancy
Breast malignancy
- SIR
- 1.34 (95% CI 1.00 - 1.80)
- Modest increased risk, not statistically significant
Interval between SSc and malignancy diagnosis
- Mean interval, years
- 7.4 (95% CI 5.3 - 9.5)
Original publication
Incidence of malignancy in systemic sclerosis: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Semin Arthritis Rheum. Published 7 June 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →