The following is a summary of “Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma tumor accrual rates in immunosuppressed patients with autoimmune and inflammatory conditions: A retrospective cohort study,” published in the April 2024 issue of Dermatology by Granger, et al.

Immunosuppression poses a known risk factor for developing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC), particularly notable in solid organ transplant recipients and those with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. However, the extent of the risk in autoimmune and inflammatory conditions remained less clear. For a study, researchers sought to evaluate the impact of disease type, duration of immunosuppression, and systemic medications on CSCC accrual rates, defined as the number of CSCCs a patient develops per year in autoimmune and inflammatory conditions.

They conducted a retrospective review involving 94 immunosuppressed individuals (including rheumatoid arthritis: 31 [33.0%], inflammatory bowel disease: 17 [18.1%], psoriasis: 11 [11.7%], autoimmune other (AO): 24 [25.5%], and inflammatory other: 21 [22.3%]) and 188 immunocompetent controls, identifying primary, invasive CSCCs diagnosed from 2010 to 2020.

Immunosuppressed patients exhibited higher CSCC accrual rates compared to immunocompetent controls (0.44 ± 0.36): total cohort (0.82 ± 0.95, P < .01), rheumatoid arthritis (0.88 ± 1.10, P < .01), inflammatory bowel disease (0.94 ± 0.88, P < .01), psoriasis (1.06 ± 1.58, P < .01), AO (0.72 ± 0.56, P < .01), and inflammatory other (0.72 ± 0.61, P < .01). Increased tumor accrual rates were associated with exposure to systemic medications including immunomodulators, tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibitors, non-tumor necrosis factor inhibitor biologics, and corticosteroids, but not with the number of systemic medication class exposures or duration of immunosuppression.

Patients with autoimmune and inflammatory conditions exhibited elevated rates of CSCC accrual compared to immunocompetent individuals.

Reference: jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(23)03249-8/abstract