Abstract: Objective：To investigate the clinical characteristics of Behcet’s disease (BD) associated with malignancy. Methods Medical records at Peking Union Medical College Hospital spanning from December 1995 through June 2012 were reviewed to identify patients who were diagnosed as BD associated with malignancy. Results Of 651 patients with BD in our hospital, 41 patients (25 female and 16 male) developed malignancy including 29 in hematologic malignancy and 13 in solid cancer. Myelodysplastic syndrome (n= 20) was the most common hematologic malignancy associated with BD, followed by leukemia (n = 4), aplastic anemia (n= 2) and lymphoma (n= 1). While, in solid cancer, colorectal cancer were more commonly associated with BD (n= 3, one case was also complicated with endometrial cancer), followed by bladder carcinoma (n= 2), esophageal carcinoma, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, thyroid carcinoma, breast cancer, cervical cancer, renal cell carcinoma, metastatic adenocarcinoma (n= 1, each). Older age and intestinal involvement were more frequent in patients with malignancy (P < 0.05). Comparisons of clinical characteristics between patients with solid cancer and those with hematologic disease showed that older age, long disease duration and low disease activity were more commonly seen in BD patients with solid cancer. Conclusions The possibility of development of malignancy in BD patients should not be ignored. Older age and intestinal involvement is more likely to be the risk factors for the BD patients associated with malignancy. Further studies will be required to ascertain the pathogenic link between BD and malignancy.

Key words: Behcet’s disease, cancer, solid cancer, hematologic malignancy