Association of nonmelanoma skin cancer with second malignancy

Abstract

Background: Heightened risks of second cancers have been reported in patients with nonmelanoma cancer of the skin (NMSC), but this association has not been studied in a large, ethnically diverse, multigeographic population.

Methods: This cross-sectional study assessed the association of NMSC with another malignancy in the Women's Health Initiative Observational Study, a study that was conducted in 40 communities throughout the U.S. and involved 93,676 postmenopausal women ages 50-79 years. Cancer history, demographics, and previous and current risk exposures were determined by questionnaire at a baseline examination. Logistic regression was used to assess the association (odds ratio) of a history of NMSC with a history of other (non-NMSC) cancers controlling for age and potential confounding factors. Complete cancer data were available in 92,658 women.

Results: In age-adjusted analyses, women with a history of NMSC (n = 7554 women) were 2.30 times as likely to report a history of another cancer, other than NMSC, compared with women who had no history of NMSC (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.18-2.44). In a subgroup analysis, black women with NMSC had 7.46 times the odds (95% CI, 3.08-18.0) of reporting a second malignancy compared with black women without NMSC.

Conclusions: This study provides additional evidence of an association between NMSC and another malignancy in a large, multiethnic population.