It's true that there are side effects and risks to everything, Molly. Some are mild, some more serious, some rare and all the evidence is not in yet. Some 'associations' that are written about as 'possibly' linked are not 'causally' linked and fully understanding all the medical language is far from easy, for many of us.

Yes, there are risks. There's probably an increased cancer risk associated to eating a hunk of nicely aged cheddar cheese too but I am still going to eat it! (yum) And yes, there are risks also to nsaids, dmards, acupuncture, chiropractic, physiotherapy, supplements, herbal remedies,... and to doing nothing!

For perspective and balance, a French study:
From PubMed: Epub 2009 Oct 14:
Hôpital de Bicêtre, Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France.
Results of the 3-year prospective French RATIO registry.
"OBJECTIVE: To describe cases of lymphoma associated with anti-TNF therapy, identify risk factors, estimate the incidence and compare the risks for different anti-TNF agents."
"CONCLUSION: The two to threefold increased risk of lymphoma in patients receiving anti-TNF therapy is similar to that expected for such patients with severe inflammatory diseases. Some lymphomas associated with immunosuppression may occur, and the risk of lymphoma is higher with monoclonal-antibody therapy than with soluble-receptor therapy."

And from one of your links, from Medscape Rheumatology:
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/711093
The article on anti-TNF meds linked to Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer
"Although the trend was for increased risk with anti-TNF therapy, the absolute risk was low."
"The strongest predictor of nonmelanoma skin cancer was previous nonmelanoma skin cancer."
(bold emphasis is mine)

I have never claimed nor denied there are risks associated with anti-tnf therapy - but I do strongly believe that the real 'disservice' is when they are presented in an exaggerated and/or unbalanced manner.

Like many of us with AS, I don't have the luxury of mild disease and encourage only that risk vs benefits for treatment be weighed on a personal basis, in relation to one's own personal disease status and prognosis and after discussion with one's doctor. These meds are not and should not be for everyone, but in cases of severe illness - they are a godsend, (in my opinion. ~smile)

Take care,
mig