Scleroderma and Life Expectancy (Two Questions and Answers)

By Daniel Furst, M.D. (originally published in "Scleroderma Voice," 2002 #4)

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.