Eleven patients out oj 489 treated with PUVA iherapy have developed skin cancers: all kwions have been on light expo.sed areas. II these figttrcs are adjusted for years of trcatmeni we can expect one patient to develop skin cancer every 52 PUVA year.v. This figttre inclttdes skin cancers that wotitd have developed without PUVA iherapy. AU lesions have been .small and ea,sily letnovcd and no reeurrcnces, nwtastases or deaths have ocettrrcd. The risk appears to he do.sc related. The lowering of the total ilosc cait he achieved hy change.s to the dose sehcdtilc, redtictlon of lunieccssary maiittemmce. added topical psoralens, oral retinoids and protection of non-involved areas.The protection of .sun exposed areas and the cxclti,sion of patients with a history of skin cancer or requiring a high dose to clear or maintain, should all contribute to reducing the above incidence. Ctttaneous damage from PUVA therapy is i>rcstfittably cttiniilative and the risk of a more maligtuuit form of cotnplication remains.• Skin and Caneer Foundation. Sydney.
There is an association between ACD to epoxy resin and development of persistent photosensitivity. Possible mechanisms to explain the relationship between the 2 phenomena are discussed.
A proportion of patients who suffer from either irritant or allergic contact dermatitis, many of whom have no past or family history of atopy or of any other skin disease, evolve into chronic eczema. Workers' compensation payments are frequently suspended after about 6 to 12 months on the basis of 'endogenous dermatitis'. Patients, often healthy breadwinners in the 30 to 50 age group are deemed unemployable because of persistent active dermatitis. Expensive prolonged litigation frequently follows but the end result is usually a patient who has become a healthy, bored, pensioner/retiree with all the psychological and physical sequelae secondary to inactivity and major lifestyle change. It is now becoming recognized that there are many jobs which a person suffering from various degrees of chronic dermatitis can perform without aggravation of dermatitis. However, widespread acceptance of this tenet requires a change in attitude by all the players in the workers' compensation complex, namely the employer, the insurance company, the medical practitioner, the employee and the union. Fortunately, the emphasis is gradually changing towards multidisciplinary assessment of work potential with appropriate retraining and redeployment of injured workers rather than granting lump sum compensation payouts or pensions.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.