Skin Cancer May Lead to Other Cancers
A new study suggests that people who have had non-melanoma skin cancer may be at increased risk of developing other cancers, including those that affect other parts of the body. Previous research has already found a link between skin cancer and an increased risk of developing melanoma, a rarer but more malignant form of skin cancer. The study is the work of Dr. Jiping Chen of the National Cancer Institute and is published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Researchers analyzed data from a prospective cohort study based in Maryland. They found 769 people in the cohort had been diagnosed with non-melanoma skin cancer during a 16 year follow up period since the study started in 1989, and 18,000 people with no history of the disease over the same period. Researchers then compared the risk of developing other types of cancer in the two groups.
The results found that the overall cancer diagnosis was nearly 300 cases per 10,000 persons in the skin cancer group compared to only 77 per 10,000 in the non cancer group. The strongest links between a history of skin cancer and the risk of developing other cancers was in participants aged 25 to 44.
The authors concluded, "This community based, prospective cohort study provides evidence for an association between a skin cancer diagnosis and an increased risk of subsequent cancer, even after adjusting for individual-level risk factors." The authors also speculated that the younger participants with history of skin cancer along with being prone to developing other cancers may have an inherited predisposition to cancer.