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Psoriasis linked to increased risk for SCC in women

Women with a personal history of mild-to-severe psoriasis may have an elevated risk for nonmelanoma skin cancer, particularly squamous cell carcinoma, according to recently published study results.

Researchers evaluated data from two ongoing cohort studies: The Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the NHS II. Diagnoses of nonmelanoma skin cancer, including squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), were determined by self-report questionnaires. Medical records were only obtained for SCC, as previous reports showed a high validity for self-report of BCC, according to the researchers.

The study included 157,934 participants. The personal history of psoriasis at baseline was 1.8% among the 63,054 participants from the NHS with 1,204 SCC cases and 8,899 BCC cases documented after follow-up. In the NHS II, which consisted of younger women, the baseline history of psoriasis was 1.6% in 94,880 participants, with 521 SCC cases and 7,176 BCC cases documented after follow-up.

Personal history of psoriasis was confirmed using the Psoriasis Screening Tool and validated by a supplementary questionnaire. The confirmed cases were participants who reported diagnosis and met the criteria for psoriasis, which included measurement of involved body surface area.

In the meta-analysis results for the combined cohort, the age- and multivariate-adjusted RRs of SCC for women with psoriasis were 1.56 (95% CI, 1.15-2.12) and 1.51 (95% CI, 1.11-2.05), suggesting that a personal history of psoriasis was associated with an elevated risk of SCC. Results showed no significant association between psoriasis and a risk for BCC.

The NHS participants also showed a trend of increasing risk depending on psoriasis severity. The age- and multivariate-adjusted RRs of SCC in the mild psoriasis group were 1.52 (95% CI, 1.01-2.3) and 1.42 (95% CI, 0.94-2.15), respectively, and for the moderate-to-severe group, 1.89 (95% CI, 0.71-5.05) and 1.99 (95% CI, 0.74-5.32), respectively (P = .03).

“Based on our results, we recommend health providers should be aware of the increased skin cancer risk when treating patients with psoriasis, even mild psoriasis,” the researchers concluded. – Talitha Bennett

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.