ArticleDermatology and therapy2025
Cancer Risk in Vitiligo: No Evidence of Increased Prevalence-A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
Article in Dermatology and therapy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Skin cancer risk in alopecia areata: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in oncology · 2026Pooled it
- Vitiligo-Current Treatment Options and Future Perspectives.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionVitiligo, a chronic depigmenting disorder affecting 1-2% of the global population, is caused by immune-mediated melanocyte destruction. While its pathogenesis is multifactorial, the relationship between vitiligo and malignancy risk remains controversial. Some studies suggest an increased cancer risk, while others propose a potential protective effect, particularly against skin cancers. This study provides a comprehensive evaluation of malignancy risks in patients with vitiligo.
methodsThis systematic review and meta-analysis followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines and was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023483130). A comprehensive search was conducted across Medline, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases. Studies reporting hazard ratios for malignancy incidence in patients with vitiligo were included. Data extraction and risk of bias assessment were performed using the Cochrane ROBINS-E tool.
resultsOf 7753 records identified, 6378 remained after duplicates were removed, and 12 studies were included in the final review. Quantitative analysis was performed on six studies. The combined sample comprised 3,267,951 participants, including 289,322 patients with vitiligo. Three meta-analyses were conducted for melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancer, and lymphoma. The pooled hazard ratio (HR) for lymphoma was 1.00 (95% CI 0.40-2.53), for melanoma 0.80 (95% CI 0.27-2.34), and for non-melanoma skin cancer 0.38 (95% CI 0.00-732.76), suggesting no consistent associations.
conclusionThis meta-analysis did not identify significant differences in cancer risk across the examined subgroups. While a protective effect of vitiligo against some malignancies cannot be excluded, substantial heterogeneity among studies warrants cautious interpretation. Further high-quality research is needed to clarify these associations.
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Registered trials
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