Incidence of Cancer Among Patients With Atopic Dermatitis

Abstract

Interventions:The National Swedish Cancer Register coded malignant neoplasms during the entire period of study. Follow-up time was calculated from the date of entry in the cohort until the occurrence of a first cancer diagnosis, emigration, death, or the end of the observation period, whichever occurred first.Main Outcome Measures: Follow-up by means of record linkages to several nationwide registers, among them the National Swedish Cancer Register. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) (the ratios of numbers of observed patients with cancer to expected numbers of incident cases of cancer) estimated the risk of developing cancer rela-tive to the risks in the age-, sex-, and calendar yearmatched general Swedish population.Results: After excluding the first year of follow-up, the risk of developing any cancer was increased by 13% (95% confidence interval [CI] of SIR, 1.01-1.25, based on 311 observed patients with cancer). Excess risks were observed for cancers of the esophagus (SIR, 3.5; 95% CI, 1.3-7.7; 6 patients), pancreas (SIR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.0-3.4; 11 patients), brain (SIR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.1-2.4; 27 patients), and lung (SIR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.3-2.8; 31 patients) and for lymphoma (SIR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.4-2.9; 29 patients). There was a nonsignificant 50% excess risk for nonmelanoma skin cancer (SIR, 1.5; 95% CI, 0.8-2.6; 12 patients), seemingly confined to men and to the first 10 years of follow-up. Malignant melanoma did not occur more often than expected. Conclusions:The observed risk elevations, all of borderline statistical significance, should be interpreted cautiously. We could not control for possible confounding by cases of cancer caused by smoking, and the combination of multiple significance testing and few observed patients may have generated chance findings.

Increased rate of positive penicillin skin tests among patients with glioma: insights into the association between allergies and glioma risk

“…25 The occurrence of atopic dermatitis, an immune-related disorder, increased the risk of brain tumor and other cancers. 13 In this study, the rate of positive PenST and blood eosinophil counts was higher in glioma cases than in controls (Fig. 2), indicating that the presence of eosinophils, and a heightened penicillin allergic response, may be related to high glioma susceptibility.…”

Epidemiology and etiology of non-Hodgkin lymphoma – a review

“…A decrease in risk has been observed repeatedly in case-control studies in individuals with allergic skin conditions or with a history of allergy to grass or pollen [114Á/118], but the majority of these studies have used self-reported history of allergy, and the distinction between nonallergic conditions and allergy has not always been clear. Also, recent cohort studies with prospectively collected data on allergy could not confirm a decreased lymphoma risk among these patients [119,120]. Allergic reactions have been suggested to be related to a reduced NHL risk through promotion of B-cell differentiation [121] and/or by skewing the T helper cell immune response towards increased T helper type 2 activity [122].…”

Lack of Association between Exposure to Topical Calcineurin Inhibitors and Skin Cancer in Adults

“…A study of twins also showed that the development of basal cell carcinoma was not associated with AD [12]. However, a recent study from Sweden indicated that patients hospitalized for AD had a trend, which was not statistically significant, toward a 50% increase in skin cancers about 15 years later in life [13]. …”