In a study published online ahead of print in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, researchers sought to determine whether a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and/or melanoma is associated with extracutaneous cancers.
Data from 447,801 adult participants in the 1997-2011 National Health Interview Survey was assessed, including their history of NMSC, melanoma and 27 extracutaneous cancers. They found that NMSC was associated with a higher risk for one or more extracutaneous malignancies, as was a history of melanoma.
Extracutaneous cancers were found more often in younger patients and Caucasian patients with NMSC or melanoma. In addition, they researchers found that smokers with a history of NMSC or melanoma that were between the ages of 18 and 39 had even higher risk of developing an extracutaneous malignancy.
Patients with a history of NMSC were more likely to develop cancers of the bladder, brain, breast, colon, esophagus, kidney, lung, lymphoma, melanoma, prostate, soft tissue, throat/pharynx, thyroid and uterus, while those with melanoma were more likely to develop bladder, breast, colon, kidney, lung, pancreas, prostate, soft tissue, throat/pharynx, thyroid and uterus cancers.
History of nonmelanoma skin cancer and/or melanoma is associated with extracutaneous cancers established.
The authors sought to determine whether non–melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and melanoma are associated with extra–cutaneous cancers and identify modifiable risk factors for such an association.