Younger Skin Cancer Survivors at Higher Risk for Other Cancers Later

A recent study shows that young skin cancer survivors may be more likely to develop different cancers-including melanoma-in the future.

Researchers from the University of Melbourne, Australia and the University of Oxford, England, found that skin cancer survivors, including nonmelanoma survivors, were up to 1.36 times more likely to develop melanoma later in life. For those under 25, the risk was even higher at 23 times more likely at 3.5 percent higher for survivors aged 25 to 44. Those who developed nonmelanoma cancers before 25 were at an even higher risk, with them 53 times more likely to develop brain cancer, along with other types of cancers-including colon, liver, breast, prostate and stomach.

"The likelihood of developing a life-threatening cancer among people aged under 25 years at the time of their first NMSC is enormous," said Dr. Rodney Sinclair, director of dermatology at the Epworth Hospital and professor of medicine at the University of Melbourne in Australia, via the Plain Dealer. "By way of comparison, the risk is of the same order of magnitude seen for lung cancer after smoking a packet of cigarettes a day for 50 years."

By observing 502,490 people who had nonmelanoma cancers, as well as 8,787,513 people with no history of skin cancer, they discovered that 13 percent of people in the first group actually went on to develop other types of cancer. At nine percent, the second group showed a lower risk.

However, researchers caution that the study considered both cell types-basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) and squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) without differentiating between the two, which makes it difficult to determine the chance of developing cancer in the future based on the type of cancer patients had in the past.

"It might be that one type of NMSC [non-melanoma skin cancer] is more strongly associated with increased risks of subsequent primaries; however, only subtle differences have been noted in studies that do differentiate SCCs and BCCs," the study notes.

However, researchers stress the importance of early detection, including screening, as a proper course of action.

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More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.