Cancer Risks in Vitiligo Patients: A Nationwide Population-Based Study in Taiwan

Vitiligo and Prostate Cancer Correlation

A 72-year-old male with a history of systemic hypertension, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and hyperlipidemia presents with diffuse patches of cutaneous depigmentation. A shave biopsy of different regions of depigmented skin indicated vitiligo. The patient was prescribed Opzelura (ruxolitinib) 1.5% topical cream as well as tacrolimus 0.1% topical ointment for vitiligo. He also had a history of prostate cancer. A prostate biopsy revealed three sites of prostatic adenocarcinoma with a Gleason score of 6 and a Prostate Imaging-Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) score of 2. The patient remained in active surveillance for prostate cancer without treatment, due to its low severity. A subsequent biopsy five years later revealed a decrease in prostate cancer prevalence, with cancer present in only one core and at a lower severity. The purpose of this case presentation is to discuss possible links between vitiligo and prostate cancer, as well as their shared mechanisms and pathways.

The Risk of Keratinocyte Cancer in Vitiligo and the Potential Mechanisms Involved

Although light skin types are associated with increased skin cancer risk, a lower incidence of both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) has been reported in patients with vitiligo. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis on the NMSC risk in patients with vitiligo, indicating a reduced relative risk ratio of NMSC in vitiligo. Furthermore, we propose a series of hypotheses on the underlying mechanisms, including both immune-mediated and nonimmune-mediated pathways. This study reveals insights into the relationship between vitiligo and keratinocyte cancer and can also be used to better inform patients with vitiligo.

Actinic keratoses and squamous cell carcinoma limited to photo-exposed skin in vitiligo vulgaris in pigmented skin type

Vitiligo skin has a lesser number of photoprotective melanocytes-theoretically, there is a higher risk of development of non-melanoma skin cancers in such patients. But most studies in Caucasian patients have shown decreased incidence of non-melanoma skin cancers in patients with vitiligo. In Indian patients, there is a paucity of literature on such adverse events. We report a case of actinic keratoses, cutaneous horn with dysplasia and squamous cell carcinoma developing exclusively over photo-exposed vitiligo lesions in an Indian woman in her 60s (housewife, Fitzpatrick skin type V and average daily photo-exposure time 2-4 hours) of long-standing vitiligo vulgaris without any history of phototherapy. The photoprotected lesional skin was completely normal with no clinically appreciable enlarged regional lymph nodes. Shave and elliptical excision of the suspicious lesions were done, and histopathology showed various degrees of malignant transformation in various lesions. The patient was started on topical imiquimod for the lesions of actinic keratoses and was referred for staging and wide excision of squamous cell carcinoma lesion. We report this case for its rarity and to emphasise the fact that there is a need for counselling for lifestyle modification in patients with vitiligo as the use of sunscreens is often not practised by Indian patients due to financial constraints and physical measures such as using full sleeves, high-collared dresses and scarves should be encouraged.

Obstructing Stage IV Adenocarcinoma of the Transverse Colon in a Young Patient With Vitiligo

Advanced colorectal cancer, while uncommon, can occur in a young patient. We present a rare case of advanced transverse colon cancer in a young patient with vague symptoms and unique comorbid conditions, while reviewing the literature on colorectal cancer and its association with autoimmune conditions. With a recent increase in the incidence of colon cancer in young patients, further research is needed as to whether colorectal cancer screening is warranted in younger cohorts outside of current recommendations and guidelines. Investigations are needed into the factors that may explain this and the public health interventions that can be employed to improve colon cancer prevention. The objective of this report is to highlight the importance of recognizing alarming symptoms and raise awareness of the increasing incidence of early-onset colon cancer in young patients.

Visualizing novel connections and genetic similarities across diseases using a network-medicine based approach

Understanding the genetic relationships between human disorders could lead to better treatment and prevention strategies, especially for individuals with multiple comorbidities. A common resource for studying genetic-disease relationships is the GWAS Catalog, a large and well curated repository of SNP-trait associations from various studies and populations. Some of these populations are contained within mega-biobanks such as the Million Veteran Program (MVP), which has enabled the genetic classification of several diseases in a large well-characterized and heterogeneous population. Here we aim to provide a network of the genetic relationships among diseases and to demonstrate the utility of quantifying the extent to which a given resource such as MVP has contributed to the discovery of such relations. We use a network-based approach to evaluate shared variants among thousands of traits in the GWAS Catalog repository. Our results indicate many more novel disease relationships that did not exist in early studies and demonstrate that the network can reveal clusters of diseases mechanistically related. Finally, we show novel disease connections that emerge when MVP data is included, highlighting methodology that can be used to indicate the contributions of a given biobank.

Risk of skin cancer after ultraviolet phototherapy in patients with vitiligo: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Although ultraviolet (UV) phototherapy is an effective treatment for vitiligo, its effect on skin cancer risk remains controversial.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to investigate the association between UV phototherapy and skin cancer risk in patients with vitiligo.

METHODS

A systematic review was performed for studies published before May 5, 2021, in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases. The primary outcome was the association of UV phototherapy with the risk of skin cancer in patients with vitiligo. A meta-analysis with a random-effects model was conducted.

RESULTS

Five retrospective cohort studies with 110,038 patients with vitiligo receiving UV phototherapy and 118,569 patients not receiving phototherapy were included in the meta-analysis. The risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer (Mantel-Haenszel risk ratio [MHRR], 0.950; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.441-2.046) and melanoma (MHRR, 1.114; 95% CI, 0.325-3.823) did not significantly increase after phototherapy in patients with vitiligo. In the subgroup analysis, we also found no significant association between phototherapy with narrowband UVB and risk of skin cancer in patients with vitiligo. These results of no elevated risk for skin cancer after phototherapy did not change in patients from Europe and Asia. The risk was also not affected by the number of narrowband UVB phototherapy sessions.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that UV phototherapy is safe treatment for vitiligo with no significant risk of skin cancer.

Reduced risk of skin cancer and internal malignancies in vitiligo patients: a retrospective population-based cohort study in Taiwan

The relationship between cancer and vitiligo has been explored but with inconsistent results. To examine the long-term cancer risk in vitiligo patients, we conducted a retrospective nationwide cohort study. From the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan, a total of 13,824 vitiligo patients were identified and matched with 55,296 reference subjects without vitiligo by age, gender, and propensity score estimated by major comorbidities from 1997 to 2013. Demographic characteristics and comorbidities were compared between these two groups. Incidence rate ratios and hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated to examine cancer risks. The 16-year incidence rates of overall cancers were 621.06 (566.56–675.55) and 726.99 (697.24–756.74) per 100,000 person-years in the vitiligo and reference groups. Patients with vitiligo showed a significantly decreased risk of overall cancers [adjusted HR, 0.85; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.77 to 0.93, p < 0.001] compared with reference subjects without vitiligo after adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, and treatments. The risks of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) were significantly reduced (adjusted HR 0.21, 95% CI 0.11–0.38, p < 0.001), as well as internal malignancies (adjusted HR 0.89, 95% CI 0.81–0.99, p = 0.026). The results were consistent across different subgroups of patients, including male gender, ages more than 40 years, and those receiving long-term systemic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs and phototherapies. Information related to phenotype, disease duration, vitiligo lesion sites, family history of vitiligo or cancer, occupation, and personal lifestyle was not included in the database. Vitiligo is associated with reduced risks of BCC and SCC, as well as internal malignancies.

Proton Pump Inhibitors Are Associated with Increased Risk of Psoriasis: A Nationwide Nested Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are among the most widely used drugs. Little is known about the association between PPI use and risk of psoriasis.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between PPI use and subsequent psoriasis risk.

METHODS

We included participants from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. Patients with PPI use and an incidence of psoriasis (n = 5,756) were assigned to the case cohort and 1:1 matched to controls. PPI use was defined as >30 cumulative defined daily doses (cDDDs); PPI nonuse was defined as ≤30 cDDDs. Logistic regression was used for the analyses.

RESULTS

There was a significant association between PPI use and psoriasis risk. The confounder-adjusted odd ratios (95% confidence interval [CI]) were 1.52 (1.31-1.76) and 1.54 (1.22-1.93) for patients with 120-365 cDDDs and >365 cDDDs, respectively, compared with PPI nonusers. Stratified analyses based on PPI type showed that exposure to lansoprazole (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.11-1.41) was associated with subsequent psoriasis risk.

CONCLUSIONS

PPI use might be associated with an increased risk of developing psoriasis or as an epiphenomenon. Further prospective studies are needed to elucidate the association and underlying mechanisms.

Prenatal exposure to acetaminophen increases the risk of atopic dermatitis in children: A nationwide nested case-control study in Taiwan

BACKGROUND

Acetaminophen (APAP) has been associated with the development of atopic diseases. However, little is known about the relationship between prenatal APAP exposure and atopic dermatitis (AD) in offspring.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between prenatal APAP exposure and AD risk in offspring.

METHODS

In this study, 2029 study pairs (AD-affected children and their mothers) and 5,058 control pairs were identified between 1998 and 2008 from the Taiwan Longitudinal Health Insurance Database. Maternal APAP exposure during pregnancy was assessed.

RESULTS

After adjustment for potential confounders, there was a significant association between risk of offspring AD and exposure to acetaminophen in the first trimester (OR 1.16; 95% CI 1.05-1.28), the second trimester (OR 1.14; 95% CI 1.03-1.27), both first and second trimesters (OR 1.30; 95% CI 1.13-1.51), both first and third trimester (OR 1.20; 95% CI 1.04-1.39), any trimester (OR 1.12; 95% CI 1.00-1.26), and all three trimesters (OR 1.32; 95% CI 1.08-1.62) in a dose-response manner.

CONCLUSIONS

Prenatal exposure to acetaminophen was associated with an increased incidence of offspring AD.

Pembrolizumab-induced vitiligo in a patient with lung adenocarcinoma: A case report

Pembrolizumab is an immune checkpoint inhibitor designed to block the interaction between programmed cell death-1 and programmed cell death-ligands 1 and 2. It shows efficacy in the treatment of patients with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer, among others. Side effects may involve immune-related adverse events, including vitiligo. We hereby present a 63-year-old Caucasian female with metastatic nonsmall-cell lung cancer. Immunohistochemical analysis showed programmed death-ligand 1 expression on 100% of tumour cells. The patient was eligible for immunotherapy and received pembrolizumab every 3 weeks as the first-line treatment. Three months after initiation of immunotherapy with pembrolizumab, depigmentation appeared on her upper right thoracic area of the skin overlying the affected lung lobe. Immunotherapy was generally well tolerated. Excellent response in our subject with complete remission during 16 months of follow-up potentially indicates that cutaneous immune-related adverse events, such as vitiligo, might be associated with increased efficacy of pembrolizumab in metastatic lung adenocarcinoma.

Cancer risks in patients with vitiligo: a Mendelian randomization study

PURPOSE

Few studies have investigated the relationship between vitiligo and risks of various types of cancers, especially those other than skin cancer. Conventional observational studies are susceptible to potential confounders and inverse causation. With a Mendelian randomization approach, we were able to evaluate the causality between vitiligo and different cancer risks.

METHODS

37 vitiligo-related single-nucleotide polymorphisms identified by the published genome-wide association studies were used as instrumental variables in our study. Summary data of individual-level genetic information were obtained from corresponding studies and cancer consortia. A total of 246,706 cases and 1,021,154 controls were included. The inverse variance-weighted method was applied to estimate the causation between vitiligo and different cancers.

RESULTS

The results revealed that vitiligo patients were at lower risks of lung cancer [odds ratio (OR) 0.9513; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.9174-0.9864; p = 0.0070], breast cancer (OR 0.9827; 95% CI 0.9659-0.9997; p = 0.0468), ovarian cancer (OR 0.9474; 95% CI 0.9271-0.9682; p < 0.001), melanoma (OR 0.9983; 95% CI 0.9976-0.9990; p < 0.001), non-melanoma skin cancer (OR 0.9997; 95% CI 0.9995-0.9999; p < 0.001), kidney cancer (OR 0.9998; 95% CI 0.9996-1.0000; p = 0.0212), and liver cancer (OR 0.9999; 95% CI 0.9999-1.0000; p = 0.0441), while no correlation was observed for other cancer types.

CONCLUSIONS

Vitiligo was causally associated with reduced risks of several cancers, suggesting that vitiligo-associated autoimmune process might play a role in the suppression of cancer.

Risk of skin cancer in patients with vitiligo in Denmark: A nationwide cohort study

Background

Vitiligo is a depigmentation disorder associated with genetic loss of melanocytes and decreased melanin synthesis. The current literature is conflicting in regard to vitiligo patients' risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma and keratinocyte cancer.

Objective

To investigate the risk of cutaneous malignant melanoma and keratinocyte cancer in vitiligo patients.

Methods

We conducted a population-based study, including 2,339 subjects with a first-time vitiligo diagnosis between 1994 and 2017 and 23,293 age- and sex-matched (1:10) controls. To address surveillance bias, we included 12,380 subjects with a first-time diagnosis of lichen planus.

Results

Age was the only significant factor for cutaneous malignant melanoma in comparison of vitiligo with controls and lichen planus (hazard ratio 1.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-1.05; and hazard ratio 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.04, respectively). Similarly, age was a significant factor for keratinocyte cancer in comparison of vitiligo with controls and lichen planus (hazard ratio 1.07, 95% CI 1.06-1.07; and hazard ratio 1.06, 95% CI 1.05-1.07). Male sex was an additional factor for keratinocyte cancer in comparison of vitiligo with lichen planus (hazard ratio 1.38; 95% CI 1.09-1.75). Phototherapy did not increase the risk of receiving a diagnosis of cutaneous malignant melanoma or keratinocyte cancer in the vitiligo cohort.

Conclusion

We observed no significant difference in cutaneous malignant melanoma or keratinocyte cancer risk among vitiligo subjects. Phototherapy use was not associated with a higher skin cancer risk in vitiligo compared with other skin diseases.

Increased risk of psychiatric disorders in adult patients with vitiligo: A nationwide, population-based cohort study in Taiwan

Vitiligo is an autoimmune skin disease that has a major impact on the quality of life of patients. However, a nationwide study of the association between vitiligo and the incidence of inclusive psychiatric diseases has not been conducted in the Asian population. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the association between vitiligo and the risk of psychiatric disorders using a nationwide database in Taiwan. Data were collected from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan from 2000 to 2013. In total, 1432 subjects with vitiligo and 5728 age-, sex- and index year-matched controls were enrolled in this study. Patients with vitiligo tend to have more coexisting psychiatric disorders than healthy individuals, regardless of their sex, age group and facility level of care. After adjusting for sex, age, comorbidity, urbanization and facility level of care, the adjusted hazard ratio of overall psychiatric disorders for patients with vitiligo was 2.926 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.646-3.236; P < 0.001). Among them, the highest adjusted hazard ratios were found for obsessive-compulsive disorder, at 10.790 (95% CI, 9.756-11.932; P < 0.001). Vitiligo is associated with an increased risk of various psychiatric disorders. By providing a better understanding of the psychosocial burden associated with vitiligo, these results emphasize the need to evaluate the mental health of patients with vitiligo by treating physicians.

Association of Functional Polymorphism in Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Nonreceptor 22 (PTPN22) Gene with Vitiligo

The protein tyrosine phosphatase nonreceptor 22 (PTPN22) is associated with susceptibility to autoimmune diseases. The functional polymorphism in PTPN22 at 1857 is a strong risk factor for vitiligo susceptibility in Europeans; however, controversy exits in other populations. Present study was aimed to determine whether the PTPN22 C1857T polymorphism confers susceptibility to vitiligo in Saudi Arabians. Genomic DNA was extracted and amplified using tetra primer amplification-refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction (ARMS-PCR) method. The frequencies of allele T and genotype CT of PTPN22 C1858T polymorphism were significantly higher, whereas those of allele C and genotype CC were lower in patients as compared with controls (P < 0.0001). The genotype TT was absent in both the patients and controls. It is concluded that PTPN22 C1858T polymorphism is strongly associated with vitiligo susceptibility. However, additional studies are warranted using large number of samples from different ethnicities and geographical areas.

Iris metastasis as the initial presentation of upper gastrointestinal tract carcinoma: a case report

BACKGROUND

We report a case of a patient with iris metastasis as the initial manifestation of a systemic cancer: upper gastrointestinal tract carcinoma.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 24-year-old Asian man presented to our hospital with complaints of red left eye, decreased visual acuity, pain, and photophobia for about 3 weeks with no prior history of cancer or any other medical abnormality. Ocular examination showed a pinkish white lesion on the superonasal part of the iris. The patient's intraocular pressure was progressively increasing despite medications, followed by lymphadenopathy 4 weeks later. Comprehensive examination was performed along with a complete systemic workup, which detected systemic malignancy. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry revealed signet ring cells, which indicated an upper gastrointestinal tract tumor as a primary source of iris metastasis. The systemic condition of the patient deteriorated rapidly thereafter and led to his death in the 12th week of the disease.

CONCLUSION

A red eye with iris lesions in otherwise healthy individuals should be considered as a possible initial manifestation of underlying systemic malignancy. Prompt referral of such patients to an oncologist is warranted.

The Risk of Mortality among Psoriatic Patients with Varying Severity: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study in Taiwan

Background: Previous studies showed conflicting results regarding the mortality risk in psoriasis patients with respect to disease severity and presence of psoriatic arthritis. This study aimed to determine the mortality risk in patients with mild and severe psoriasis and patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). Methods: A nationwide population-based cohort study was conducted based on data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database between 2002 and 2012. Incident psoriasis subjects were classified into two groups: psoriasis without arthritis and psoriasis with arthritis. Patients who had received systemic therapy and/or phototherapy were classified as having severe psoriasis; otherwise, patients were classified as having mild psoriasis. Control subjects without psoriasis were selected to match each psoriasis patient from the database within the same observational period. Cox proportional hazards analysis was used to compare the hazard ratio (HR) of time to death. Results: A total of 106,701 patients with psoriasis were included in this study. After controlling for demographics and comorbidities, psoriasis patients had a higher mortality risk compared with the control group (HR 1.41; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.36 to 1.46). Compared with psoriasis alone, the mortality risk was not increased for PsA (HR = 1.01; 95% CI 0.93 to 1.10). Besides, severe psoriasis did not increase mortality risk compared with mild psoriasis (HR = 1.0; 95% CI 0.95 to 1.06). Conclusions: Patients with psoriasis had a higher mortality risk compared with control subjects, whereas psoriasis severity and presence of PsA had no impact on mortality risk in psoriasis patients.