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Psoriasis Treatment Linked To Skin Cancer

The March 2004 issue of the Archives of Dermatology reports that psoriasis patients undergoing a common medical treatment have higher levels of a skin cancer virus.
Patients undergoing treatment with PUVA (the drug psoralen combined with ultraviolet-A light therapy) have a higher level of the human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that has been closely linked to skin cancer.

In this study, three groups of patients were examined. Group A was patients who had PUVA exposure and a history of skin cancer. Group B was patients who had PUVA exposure with no history of skin cancer and Group C was patients with no history of PUVA exposure or skin cancer.

Evidence of the skin cancer virus was found in 73% of the patients in Group A, 69% of the patients in Group B and 36% of the patients in Group C.

Previous studies have linked PUVA treatment with skin cancer but the cause of the higher risk was never pinpointed.

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