Risk for Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Associated with Immunosuppressive Treatment of Autoimmune Disease

Patients receiving immunosuppressive medications should be evaluated regularly for NMSCs.

Recipients of some (e.g., cyclosporine, azathioprine) but not all (systemic corticosteroids) forms of immunosuppression increase risk for developing nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs). Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are autoimmune disorders treated with immunosuppressive medications. The authors of this study retrospectively reviewed Medicare data from 2006 to 2012, examining the effect of immunosuppressive medications on the incidence of NMSC in RA and IBD patients who had already had an NMSC.

Of nearly 9460 immunosuppressed patients who'd had a first NMSC, 13.6% developed at least one additional NMSC during treatment. Patients were classified by methotrexate use: none, short-term (<1 year), or long-term (>1 ye…

Reviewing Author

Craig A. Elmets, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory board Astellas Pharmaceuticals

EquityVaxin

Grant / Research support NIH; NIH/NCI; Veteran’s Administration; Ferndale Laboratories; Kyowa Hakko Kirin Pharma, Inc.

Editorial boards Cancer Prevention Research; Photodermatology, Photoimmunology, & Photomedicine; UpToDate; eMedicine; Journal of Dermatological Sciences; JAMA Dermatology

Leadership positions in professional societies American Academy of Dermatology (Vice Chair, Committee on Science and Research); Photomedicine Society (Board of Directors)