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Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Ups Risk for Other Cancers

TUESDAY, Aug. 26 (HealthDay News) -- People with a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer face twice the risk of developing other malignancies, a new study finds.

Every year in the United States, about 1 million people are diagnosed with nonmelanoma skin cancers, according to the American Cancer Society. Developing these tumors is known to increase the risk for melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. But the link between skin cancer and cancers at other body sites is just beginning to be explored.

Now, researchers reporting online Aug. 26 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute say that a history of nonmelanoma lesions doubles the odds for a subsequent cancer. "That's not just cancer related to melanoma or other skin cancers," noted lead researcher Anthony Alberg, from the Medical University of South Carolina.

In this study, the increased risk was seen for lung cancer, colon and breast cancer, Alberg said. "For prostate cancer, the trend was in the direction of increased risk, but the association was weaker and not statistically significant," he said.

Alberg believes the increased risk may be due to a weakened ability to repair DNA damage to cells.

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