Methotrexate Use for Patients with Psoriasis and Risk of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Nested Case-control Study.

• An association between methotrexate use and risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma has been reported in patients with rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis. A nested case-control study was performed to investigate if methotrexate use among patients with psoriasis was associated with increased risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. Data were obtained from Swedish egisters and included 623 patients with psoriasis and a first cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma from 2010 to 2016. Ten randomly selected patients with psoriasis were matched on age and sex to each case. Among cases, 160 (26%) were ever-users of metho-trexate. The corresponding number among the controls was 1,370 (22%), yielding an unadjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.23 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.02-1.49); p=0.034. After adjusting for use of other immunosuppressive drugs the association was close to unity (OR 1.09; 95% CI 0.89-1.34); p=0.39. The slightly increased risk of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma associated with methotrexate-exposure in patients with psoriasis does not seem to be associated with metho-trexate, but rather with disease severity, other anti-psoriatic treatments, and ultraviolet (UV) exposure.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Klinisk medicin -- Dermatologi och venereologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Clinical Medicine -- Dermatology and Venereal Diseases (hsv//eng)

Keyword

epidemiology

methotrexate

pharmacology

psoriasis

squamous cell carcinoma

adverse effects

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)