Rates of serious infections and malignancies among patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving either tumor necrosis factor inhibitor or rituximab therapy.

Objective: Because of the role of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in host defense, it was hypothesized that its inhibition might lead to an increased risk of malignancies and infections. The objective of our study was to assess the incidence of serious infections leading to hospitalization and malignancies among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving either TNF inhibitor or rituximab (RTX) therapy.

Methods: The study population was identified from the National Register for Biologic Treatment in Finland and the hospital records of Central Finland Central Hospital for conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (cDMARD) users.