Increased risk of second primary observed in patients with history of nonmelanoma skin cancer
Prospective study results show that patients with a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer have a moderately increased risk of developing cancer in the future, specifically breast and lung cancer in women and melanoma in both men and women.
Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) researchers followed 46,237 men between June 1986 and June 2008 in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study plus 107,339 women between June 1984 and June 2008 in the Nurses’ Health Study. New cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer (36,102) and of other primary cancers (29,447) were documented by researchers.
According to study results, men with a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer had a 15% greater risk of developing other primary cancers, while women with a similar history had a 26% elevated risk of developing other primary cancers. A history of nonmelanoma skin cancer was linked to an 11% greater risk in men and a 20% increased risk in women of other primary cancers when melanoma was excluded from the analysis.
Jiali Han, PhD, Channing Division of Network Medicine, BWH Department of Medicine and BWH Department of Dermatology, said, “Because our study was observational, these results should be interpreted cautiously and are insufficient evidence to alter current clinical recommendations.”
The study is published in PLOS Medicine.
Source: BWH.