Is lupus a form of cancer?

Overall, there is only a slight increase in risk of cancer for people with lupus read more

Systemic lupus erythematosus (“lupus” or “SLE”) and other autoimmune diseases are linked to an increased risk of certain types of cancer. Specifically, lupus patients may experience an elevated risk of lymphoma and other cancers, such as cancer of the cervix. read more

Lupus is not like or related to cancer. Cancer is a condition of malignant, abnormal tissues that grow rapidly and spread into surrounding tissues. Lupus is an autoimmune disease, as described above. read more

The type that we refer to simply as lupus is known as systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE. Other types of lupus include discoid (cutaneous), drug-induced, and neonatal. According to the Lupus Foundation of America, 1.5 to 2 million Americans have some form of lupus. read more

Some cancers are more common in lupus than the general population (for example, lymphoma, a cancer of blood cells), and some cancers are less common in lupus than the general population (for example, breast cancer), so that overall, there is only a slight increase in cancer for people with lupus, versus the general population. read more