For people with rheumatoid arthritis, methotrexate is the treatment of choice in reducing pain and inflammation. But there’s evidence the drug can activate a virus that can increase the risk of lymphoma and similar cancers in some patients.The study appears in this month’s issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.A number of reports have linked methotrexate with lymphoma and similar cancers of the lymph glands, says senior researcher Shannon C. Kenney, MD, a microbiologist and infectious disease specialist with the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Also, studies have shown that when rheumatoid arthritis patients quit taking methotrexate, their lymphoma went into regression, another sign that the drug directly contributes to the cancer, she tells WebMD. Some studies have indicated that the drug’s immune-weakening effect places people at risk for viral-associated lymphomas.
