Is it logical to wonder if 2 years on Prednisone can be a contributing cause to a cancer ?

Question

In that by reducing the body's immune system it can allow a cancer to take hold ?

All thoughts and opinions on this appreciated. I do not know of any study data.

Answer 1

I am with niecwah on this one..there can be so many contributing factors..that is for sure....x

Answer 2

Your question and some of the answers are interesting, I always enjoy Spreedogs expertise.  I believe it is logical to wonder if long term Prednisone therapy could lead to cancer.  It brings me back to my mom's story.  Twenty years ago, she had Hodgkin's Disease, had treatment and was in remission for 5 years.  She also had Crohns Disease.  For the Crohns, they put her on long term Prednisone therapy.  She ended up developing T cell Lymphoma, which caused a itchy rash over her whole body.  She died of septicemia, which I assume came from the breaks in the skin leaving her susceptible to infection along with her compromised immune system.  It has been 13 years since she's been gone and medicine has changed since then.  I don't want to scare you, I just wanted to share my personal story.  Like the others said, talk to a doctor.  I wish you the best.

Answer 3

I'm In Agreement With Spreed On This. The Chronic "Knocking Down" of Mature T-Cells (In Particular CD8+ T Cells) Cannot Help but Be Seen as Detrimental.

EDIT: BTW, Not Really the "Cause".

Answer 4

I am a layman, so try Web MD.

Answer 5

that's a really complicated question that should be discussed with your doctor. In short, no prednisone won't contribute to cancer. this question is over simplified because every cancer has a different mechanism. prednisone works on b cells proliferation that would create antibodies, a person don't use antibodies to fight cancer cells because they are self cells. prednisone is often used to treat certain types of cancer that deal with b cell over proliferation. Once again, I urge you to talk to your doctor or if this is concerning a friend their oncologist, because they want nothing more than to answer your questions. and a lot of the info u get off of here won't be entirely correct. I'm not even one hundred precent sure about my answer.  

Answer 6

I woudlent go beating yourself up, or blaming yourself for anything no matter what the answer.... Apparently hot chips and sauce cause cancer these days... Too much happiness, being in love, puting your feet in paint... Bloody anything... As far as I am concerned its luck of the draw and its how you deal with it that counts... Your a beautiful lady, from what I have seen....

xxoo

Answer 7

Yes, it is logical.  The prednisone would not actually induce malignant transformation of cells, but I would be concerned about chronic immunosuppression dropping my immune guard to early evolving malignancies as you apparently are already aware.

It is part of the immune function to identify, attack, and destroy aberrant cells that could propagate into a malignant tumor if allowed to grow unchecked.

This is more of a theoretical concern since I don't know of actual data to indicate a clear association between two years of prednisone and and increased risk for any of the many types of cancer.  (Of course, I do not know ALL data that has been published especially since I am now a retired cancer doctor.)

I think you must be quite intelligent and well informed to think of this.  

It is a factor that should be considered and weighed against the benefits you are gaining with control of whatever disorder has prompted the chronic prednisone therapy.

I believe it also matters what dose level you are taking.  Higher doses chronically would concern me more than low dose prednisone.  Of course high dose chronic prednisone has many other side effects which you are probably familiar with - Cushinoid changes and other problems.

Best of luck to you.  Hope you do not develop a malignancy, but if you do - you still will not be able to tell whether it was the prednisone which contributed.  If it is possible to reduce the dose or get off the prednisone, that might be best.  But if you are going to have to substitute Cytoxan - don't do it.  The Cytoxan is more of a risk of actually causing cellular damage leading to malignancy.

As others have said, discussing this with the doctor(s) who knows your case in detail is the appropriate thing to do here.

Answer 8

Cancer is more an abnormality in one or more of your cells that can be either inherited or is just something we have sometimes unfortunately. I have never heard of prednisone or any corticosteroid of being a contributor to cancer. Although it is true it lowers your body natural immune system it can cause the cancer side effects to take effect quicker however if this is one of the medications you really need doctors usually have to weigh the bad risk factors with the good outcome from the medication and decide which is best for you.