Clinical characteristics and outcomes of cancer patients with post-chemotherapy arthritis: a retrospective case series report

Abstract

Hani Almoallim,1–3 Sultana Abdulaziz,4 Eilaf Fallatah,1 Haya Alhazmi,1 Nuha Meraiani,2 Tuqa Bazuhair,5 Mohammed Mansour,1 Anan Tayeb,1 Omar Fathaldin6 1Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 2Department of Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Jeddah, 3Alzaidi Chair of Research in Rheumatic Diseases, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, 4Rheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, King Fahad Hospital, Jeddah, 5Department of Medicine, King Abdullah Medical City, Makkah, 6Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Objective: The objective of this report was to describe the demographics, clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with cancer presenting with arthritis following chemotherapy in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.Patients and methods: This is a retrospective case series report. We included any patient ≥18 years of age with an established diagnosis of cancer who had received standard therapeutic intervention and was subsequently diagnosed with arthritis after developing rheumatic symptoms either during or after treatment. Patients with clinical evidence of arthritis at the time of their cancer diagnosis were excluded.Results: Seven cases from different centers were identified. Breast cancer was the most common type of cancer reported. The diagnosis of arthritis was established by a rheumatologist. Bilateral involvement of the metacarpophalangeal and proximal interphalangeal joints was the most common presentation. The knee, back, shoulder and wrist joints were less affected. Following treatment, one patient experienced complete resolution of symptoms, four patients symptomatically improved and one patient had no improvement.Conclusion: Arthritis can develop both during and after treatment of a malignancy. Solid tumors seem to be more commonly associated with this phenomenon. In this case series, the prognosis was poor as the majority of patients developed persistent arthritis. Keywords: arthralgia, rheumatic diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, rheumatism, malignancies, breast cancer, autoimmunity

Keywords

• Arthritis
• Arthralgia
• rheumatic diseases
• chemotherapy
• post-chemotherapy
• malignancies
• autoimmunity