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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2022 May 1.
Published in final edited form as: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2021 Aug 23;30(11):2059–2067. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-21-0125

Table 3.

Associations between exposure to TNFi, infliximab, or etanercept and cancer

Controls or cancer site Total TNFi exposed aOR 95%CI Infliximab exposed aOR 95%CI Etanercept exposed aOR 95%CI
N % N % N %
Controls 30,475 4,931 16.2 Ref 2,384 7.8 Ref 1,690 5.5 Ref
Head and neck 249 41 16.4 0.96 0.67 1.37 26 10.4 1.35 0.88 2.07 NR NR 0.67 0.35 1.30
Esophagus 90 19 21.1 1.55 0.88 2.73 NR NR 1.36 0.65 2.84 NR NR 2.39 1.17 4.86
Stomach 187 24 12.8 0.81 0.52 1.28 13 7.0 0.88 0.49 1.57 NR NR 0.52 0.21 1.28
Colon 727 107 14.7 0.99 0.79 1.24 61 8.4 1.11 0.83 1.48 29 4.0 0.82 0.55 1.22
Rectosigmoid/rectum 169 27 16.0 1.02 0.66 1.59 NR NR 0.63 0.31 1.28 NR NR 1.27 0.67 2.40
Anus and genital organs 138 21 15.1 0.94 0.58 1.54 NR NR 1.12 0.59 2.13 NR NR 0.54 0.20 1.46
Liver 129 20 15.5 1.21 0.72 2.03 NR NR 1.31 0.66 2.62 NR NR 1.17 0.54 2.52
Biliary tract 137 20 14.6 0.99 0.59 1.66 13 9.5 1.42 0.78 2.58 NR NR 1.02 0.46 2.27
Pancreas 392 59 15.0 1.00 0.74 1.34 27 6.9 0.91 0.60 1.38 18 4.6 0.91 0.55 1.49
Lung 2,167 361 16.6 0.93 0.81 1.08 192 8.9 1.00 0.83 1.21 104 4.8 0.80 0.63 1.02
Melanoma of skin a 317 73 23.0 1.33 0.99 1.80 44 13.9 1.50 1.05 2.16 21 6.6 1.11 0.69 1.78
Breast b 1,340 194 14.5 0.85 0.71 1.02 104 7.8 0.99 0.79 1.25 61 4.6 0.80 0.60 1.07
Uterus b 239 42 17.6 0.96 0.68 1.37 25 10.5 1.32 0.86 2.04 NR NR 0.50 0.24 1.03
Ovary b 158 25 15.8 0.85 0.55 1.33 NR NR 0.75 0.40 1.42 14 8.9 1.59 0.89 2.83
Prostate b 701 90 12.8 0.75 0.57 0.99 50 7.1 0.86 0.60 1.24 23 3.3 0.55 0.34 0.89
Urinary bladder 464 71 15.3 1.02 0.77 1.35 37 8.0 1.06 0.74 1.52 20 4.3 0.83 0.51 1.34
Kidney 297 55 18.5 1.15 0.84 1.59 32 10.8 1.39 0.94 2.06 19 6.4 1.13 0.69 1.86
Thyroid 117 23 19.7 1.16 0.72 1.87 NR NR 0.84 0.40 1.76 NR NR 0.95 0.43 2.11
Hodgkin lymphoma and miscellaneous hematological malignancies 166 36 21.7 1.44 0.96 2.17 19 11.4 1.49 0.91 2.45 NR NR 1.19 0.62 2.28
NHL 783 176 22.5 1.28 1.06 1.56 97 12.4 1.35 1.06 1.72 60 7.7 1.26 0.94 1.69
 Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma 370 78 21.1 1.06 0.81 1.39 41 11.1 1.08 0.77 1.53 26 7.0 1.05 0.69 1.62
 Follicular lymphoma 92 31 33.7 2.63 1.63 4.24 18 19.6 2.64 1.51 4.62 NR NR 2.00 1.01 3.98
 CLL/SLL 148 27 18.2 1.15 0.74 1.78 17 11.5 1.44 0.85 2.47 NR NR 1.27 0.66 2.47
Myeloma 162 22 13.6 0.83 0.52 1.31 NR NR 0.68 0.33 1.39 NR NR 0.63 0.28 1.45
Acute myeloid leukemia 99 17 17.2 1.16 0.64 2.10 NR NR 1.34 0.66 2.74 NR NR 0.58 0.18 1.88
NMSC a 501 105 21.0 1.32 1.06 1.63 64 12.8 1.37 1.06 1.77 30 6.0 1.22 0.85 1.75
BCC a 161 42 26.1 1.67 1.14 2.44 21 13.0 1.54 0.93 2.56 14 8.7 1.52 0.87 2.64
SCC a 150 23 15.3 0.87 0.54 1.40 13 8.7 1.02 0.56 1.87 NR NR 1.04 0.51 2.12
Miscellaneous 1,027 169 16.5 1.06 0.88 1.28 89 8.7 1.08 0.85 1.38 49 4.8 0.92 0.67 1.26

Abbreviations: aOR, adjusted odds ratio; TNFi, tumor necrosis factor inhibitor; NHL, non-Hodgkin lymphoma; CLL, chronic lymphocytic leukemia; SLL, small lymphocytic leukemia; NMSC, non-melanoma skin cancer; BCC, basal cell carcinoma; SCC, squamous cell carcinoma; NR, not reported because cell size < 12. Bolded values signify associations where p <0.05.

aOR: Odds ratio is adjusted for selection year, age, race and sex where appropriate, methotrexate use, and smoking indicators.

a

Analyses were restricted to White Medicare beneficiaries, See Table 2 notes for details of control selection. Odds ratios for skin cancers are additionally adjusted for history of NMSC and actinic keratosis diagnoses appearing in claims prior to diagnosis/selection.

b

Analyses were restricted to males (prostate cancer cases) or females (breast, uterus, and ovary cancer cases) and, correspondingly, 6,111 male controls or 24,364 female controls.