Scleroderma and Life Expectancy (Two
Questions and Answers)
By Daniel Furst, M.D. (originally published in "Scleroderma
Voice," 2002 #4)
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Daniel
Furst, M.D. |
Question:
What is the life expectancy of people with diffuse scleroderma?
Answer:
People with scleroderma have very different life expectancies.
Some—for example, those with limited or mild diffuse
disease—can expect to live 20 to 50 years after diagnosis,
just like anyone else.
Others with
severe, rapidly progressive disease—a group which makes
up less than 10% of the total number of patients with diffuse
scleroderma—might have a 50% chance of a five-year survival.
Life expectancy
in scleroderma is really very individual, and depends on how
much skin and internal involvement has occurred. Average numbers
that you see or read should not be applied to you as an individual.
Question:
What is the life expectancy if you have scleroderma inside
your body, that is not the diffuse kind of scleroderma? Could
it possibly go into remission?
Answer:
About 5% or less of patients with scleroderma have internal
involvement without any skin involvement. These patients have
the same life expectancy and chances for response as patients
with diffuse disease.
About 5% of
scleroderma patients go into remission even without treatment.
And a significant proportion of patients improve or stabilize
with treatment. |
