Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Ups Risk for Other Cancers

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In addition, the younger a person got a nonmelanoma skin cancer, the higher his or her risk of developing other cancers, Alberg said.

Dr. Robin Ashinoff, a dermatologist at New York University Medical Center, New York City, agreed that the inability to repair DNA damage associated with nonmelanoma skin cancer may make developing other cancers more likely.

"It is not unreasonable to suppose that patients with nonmelanoma skin cancers, especially if diagnosed when the patient is young, puts that person in a higher risk category of systemic cancers," Ashinoff said.

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People who develop skin cancers may have inherited a family tendency for other cancers because of inadequate ability to repair DNA, Ashinoff said. "In addition, these patients are followed closely for further skin cancers, and therefore may have an increased diagnosis of other cancers, because they are plugged into the medical system," she noted.

"Our skin cancer patients should know that they may be at increased for a wide variety of cancers like breast, lung and colon, and should not ignore early signs and symptoms if they occur," Ashinoff advised.

Dr. Martin Weinstock, chair of the skin cancer advisory committee at the American Cancer Society, said awareness and testing are key.

"People who have had skin cancers should make sure they are up-to-date on all their screening tests," Weinstock said. "They should be up-to-date on their colonoscopies, fecal occult blood and mammograms and Pap smears," he said.

In addition, people need to protect themselves from UV exposure, so they don't develop skin cancer in the first place, Weinstock said.

In another report, published in the same issue of the journal, researchers found that patients who use blood pressure-lowering drugs called angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) have a lower risk of developing basal or squamous cell skin cancers.

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