Author Interviews, Dermatology, Environmental Risks, Pharmacology / 28.06.2018
Common Diuretic HCTZ Associated With Increase Risk of Skin Cancers
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Sidsel Arnspang Pedersen MD
Department of Public Health, Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacy
Anton Pottegård PhD
Associate professor, Clinical Pharmacy
Odense University Hospital
University of Southern Denmark,
The following is based on results from three published papers in JAAD and JAMA Internal Medicine. (1–3)
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?
Response: Hydrochlorothiazide is one of the most frequently used diuretic and antihypertensive drugs in the United States and Western Europe. The drug is known to be photosensitizing and has previously been linked to lip cancer.4–6 Based on these previous findings, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified hydrochlorothiazide as ‘possibly carcinogenic to humans’ (class 2B).
This prompted us to investigate whether use of hydrochlorothiazide was associated to other UV dependent skin cancers, including non-melanoma skin cancer (i.e. basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)), cutaneous melanoma, as well as the more rare non-melanoma skin cancers Merkel cell carcinoma and malignant adnexal skin tumours.
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