ArticleClinical epidemiology2020
Use of Immunomodulating Drugs and Risk of Cutaneous Melanoma: A Nationwide Nested Case-Control Study.
Article in Clinical epidemiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.
- Incidence of Skin Cancer in Patients With Chronic Inflammatory Cutaneous Diseases on Targeted Therapies: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies.Frontiers in oncology · 2021Pooled it
- Association between prescribed antidepressant medication and skin cancer (melanoma, basal cell carcinoma and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma) risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Skin health and disease · 2026Review
- HarnessingInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- A375 melanoma-derived lactate controls A375 melanoma phenotypes by inducing macrophage M2 polarizationPeerJ · 2025Article
- Current Insights into the Role of UV Radiation-Induced Oxidative Stress in Melanoma Pathogenesis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Mastocytosis and Skin Cancer: The Current State of Knowledge.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Use of methotrexate and risk of skin cancer: a nationwide case-control study.British journal of cancer · 2023Article
- Review: The Key Factors to Melanomagenesis.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- The Contrasting Seasonality Patterns of Some Cancer-Types and Herpes Zoster Can Be Explained by a Binary Classification of Immunological Reactions.Journal of inflammation research · 2022Article
- Cutaneous Melanomas Arising during Childhood: An Overview of the Main Entities.Dermatopathology (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeCutaneous melanoma is among the fastest growing malignancies in Norway and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure is the primary environmental risk factor. Immunomodulating drugs can increase skin photosensitivity and suppress immune responses, and by such mechanisms influence melanoma risk. We, therefore, aimed to examine the associations between use of immunomodulating drugs and melanoma risk, at a nationwide population level. PATIENTS AND
methodsIn the Cancer Registry of Norway, we identified all cases aged 18-85 with a first primary cutaneous melanoma diagnosed in 2007-2015 (n=12,106). These were matched to population controls from the Norwegian National Registry 1:10 (n=118,564), on sex and year of birth using risk set sampling. Information on prescribed drugs (2004-2015) was obtained by linkage to the Norwegian Prescription Database (NorPD). Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate rate ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between use of immunomodulating drugs (immunosuppressants and corticosteroids) and melanoma risk, adjusted for ambient UVR and other drug use.
resultsCompared with ≤1 prescription, use of ≥8 prescriptions of immunosuppressants was associated with increased risk of melanoma (RR 1.50, 95% CI 1.27, 1.77). Similar associations were found for subgroups of immunosuppressants: drugs typically prescribed to organ transplant recipients (OTRs) (RR 2.02, 95% CI 1.35, 3.03) and methotrexate (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.04, 1.55). Similar results were found for high levels of cumulative doses and across all histological subtypes. Use of corticosteroids was not associated with melanoma risk.
conclusionWe found a positive association between use of immunosuppressants and melanoma risk, with the highest risk seen for drugs prescribed to OTRs. Knowledge about this risk increase is important for physicians and users of these drugs, for intensified surveillance, awareness and cautious sun exposure.
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