Skin Rashes Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Skin Rashes, including details on dermatitis, itches, creams, medication, treatment.

Non-melanoma skin cancer in patients with atopic dermatitis treated with topical tacrolimus.

Naylor M, Elmets C, Jaracz E, Rico JM

Oklahoma University Health Science Center, Deerfield, IL 60015, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether atopic dermatitis (AD) patients treated with tacrolimus ointment experienced an increased risk of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). METHODS: Data were collected from 9813 adult and paediatric patients with AD who applied 0.03% or 0.1% tacrolimus ointment twice daily and were examined every 3 months during the tacrolimus ointment development programme. RESULTS: Thirteen adult patients were diagnosed with NMSC during the follow-up period. All patients with NMSC were white adults and 12 were over 40 years of age. Based on 1718 patient-years of tacrolimus ointment exposure in patients 40 years of age, the calculated incidence of NMSC did not suggest an increased risk of first NMSC over that of a similarly aged US cohort. CONCLUSION: This study does not indicate an increased risk for the development of NMSC in patients with AD treated with tacrolimus ointment for a mean duration of 208 days with a maximum observation period of 1479 days.

Published 12 August 2005 in J Dermatolog Treat, 16(3): 149-53.
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