Medical updates: Skin cancer is defined as the uncontrolled growth of aberrant cells in the epidermis, the skin’s outermost layer, caused by unrepaired DNA damage that leads to mutations. These mutations cause skin cells to proliferate and produce malignant tumors.
The immunosuppressive medicine methotrexate (MTX), according to a recent study from the University of Gothenburg, has been associated with an elevated risk of three types of skin cancer. Patients using the medicine have moderate to severe psoriasis; nonetheless, only this patient group was shown to be at risk for basal cell carcinoma.
The study was conducted in collaboration with the of Southern Denmark, Aarhus University, and the University of Copenhagen and was based on Danish health care registers.
The researchers identified patients born in any Nordic country who were diagnosed with one of three types of skin cancer between 2004 and 2018: basal cell carcinoma (BCC, 131,447 patients), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC, 18,661 patients), and cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM, 26,068 patients). Every skin cancer patient was compared to ten age and gender-matched controls.
Minor risk for individual
The results were published in the British Journal of Cancer, and the study found that individuals who acquired any of the three forms of skin cancer were more likely to have previously had MTX treatment. The report presents this increase in risk as a range: 20-38% for BCC, 37-89% for SCC, and 13-61% for CMM. The findings also show that individuals who utilized larger dosages of MTX were more likely to develop SCC and BCC. CMM, on the other hand, did not show a clear dose-response association.
Sam Polesie, the study’s first author, is an associate professor (docent) of dermatology and venereology at Sahlgrenska Academy and a dermatologist at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. He emphasizes that the study’s conclusions should not be applied to individuals. Also read: https://medicalupdates.in/sensory-neurons-in-human-skin-play-key-role-in-pigmentation/
“MTX is an effective and important medicine that helps lots of patients. The absolute risk for an individual patient of developing any of these skin cancer types remains small even if they use the drug. However, since MTX is a quite frequently used drug, our results may imply a rise in the number of skin cancer cases at the population level,” Polesie says.
Psoriasis shows different picture
When the researchers limited the trial to psoriasis patients, they discovered no statistical linkage between MTX and an increased SCC or CMM risk. However, the BCC danger remained elevated.
“This might be interpreted as a weakness in the study. It’s likely that the statistical studies hide some form of bias that was visible among psoriasis patients, but we can only speculate. These findings may also be comforting to dermatologists who primarily employ MTX as a first-line systemic treatment for patients with moderate to severe psoriasis “Polesie explains.
“Psoriasis patients are likely to have different sun exposure patterns. Furthermore, light therapy was formerly a popular treatment for psoriasis. We were unable to incorporate significant characteristics such as sun exposure habits and the usage of light treatments in the research.”
Individual background factors weighed in
MTX is a popular and effective immunosuppressive medication used to treat a variety of inflammatory and autoimmune illnesses. MTX has been used since the 1950s and is an important drug in dermatology and rheumatology therapy arsenals since it is primarily given to patients with rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. Also read this:https://medicalupdates.in/4-health-benefits-of-eating-fats-first-thing-in-the-morning/
Routine tests are always performed before physicians prescribe MTX to ensure that the patient does not have any underlying liver or kidney disease. Simultaneously, the prescribing physician considers the patient’s medical state and history while determining the benefit of the prescription.
Several epidemiology studies have been conducted in recent years to determine whether MTX is connected with an increased risk of skin cancer, but the results have been rather conflicting.
“As a result, this study adds to the continuing debate over MTX and its link to skin cancer. It is critical to be attentive and to continue researching the linkages between well-established medications on the one hand and their ties to cancer on the other “Polesie explains.
