Psoriasis—A Cancer Risk Factor?

Abstract

Psoriasis is not considered a strictly skin condition, but a complex disease with multisystem involvement due to the frequent associated comorbidities. We conducted a retrospective database study of 10,986 patients admitted in the interval January 2008–January 2019 to the Dermatology Clinic of the Iasi County “St. Spiridon” Emergency Hospital. Of the 10,986 patients admitted, 1288 were diagnosed with psoriasis. The association of malignancies was found in 40 of the psoriasis group cases and 399 of the control group cases that included various dermatological conditions. The calculation of Odds Ratios allowed us to determine if the patients with psoriasis could be at risk for certain malignancies. Thus, an association was suggested between psoriasis and central nervous system (CNS), upper aerodigestive tract cancer, endocrine cancer, bladder cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, or colorectal cancer. It is the first study of its kind in the northeastern region of Romania and can be the starting point for future long-term prospective cohort studies that will allow a more accurate data collection and a better understanding of the psoriasis–cancer relationship.

Keywords

• psoriasis
• risk
• cancer