Is vasculitis linked to cancer?

Condition analysis:
No. However, there is a link between the use of chemotherapy and the onset of bladder cancer in later life, but modern dosages of chemotherapy have reduced this possibility considerably.

Instructions:
Conventional treatment of vasculitis: The goal of treatment is to reduce the inflammation induced by the autoimmune process. Conventional medicine treats autoimmune disorders with corticosteroids and other immunosuppressive drugs. While these are useful for short-term management of the worst crises, they are highly toxic when taken long term.

In mild cases, only over-the-counter drugs such as acetaminophen, aspirin, ibuprofen or naproxen may be needed to treat inflammation, but in more severe cases, corticosteroids such as prednisone, prednisolone and methylprednisolone are used. If they don’t work well, or if vasculitis is severe, cytotoxic drugs may be prescribed (sometimes in addition to steroids) to destroy the cells causing the inflammation. These include azathioprine, methotrexate and cyclophosphamide.

Beyond that, certain types of vasculitis may require other drugs. For example, Kawasaki disease, a rare childhood disorder in which blood vessel walls throughout the body become inflamed, usually is treated with high-dose aspirin and immune globulin. In some cases, surgery may be needed to remove an aneurysm that has developed as a result of vasculitis.