Autoimmune Skin Diseases Tied to Better Cancer Survival

TOPLINE:

Patients with autoimmune skin diseases (ASDs) showed significantly lower risks for death after cancer treatment than those without ASDs, especially those with alopecia areata or Sjögren syndrome.

METHODOLOGY:

• A population-based cohort study analyzed data from Taiwan’s Nationwide Cancer Registry and National Health Insurance Database between January 2019 and June 2021.
• Researchers evaluated 197,895 adults, including 26,008 with ASD (mean age, 64 years; 57.6% women) and 171,887 who did not have an ASD (mean age, 62.8 years; 46.9% women), who received antineoplastic treatment, including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, or immunotherapy.
• Primary outcomes were all-cause mortality and cancer-specific mortality.
• The mean follow-up was 566.7 days.

TAKEAWAY:

• Patients with ASDs showed a significantly lower risk for all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.93; P < .001) and cancer-specific mortality (aHR, 0.93; P < .001) than those without ASDs, adjusted for factors including age, sex, and prior immunosuppressive drug use.
• Alopecia areata showed the strongest association with reduced all-cause mortality risk (aHR, 0.82; P < .001), followed by Sjögren syndrome (aHR, 0.87; P < .001), vitiligo (aHR, 0.89; P < .05), and lupus erythema (aHR, 0.90; P < .05).
• Similarly, patients with alopecia areata showed the highest inverse associations with cancer-specific mortality (aHR, 0.82; P < .001), followed by those with Sjögren syndrome (aHR, 0.88; P < .001), vitiligo (aHR, 0.88; P < .05), and lupus erythema (aHR, 0.81; P < .001).
• The associations remained consistent after adjusting for potential confounders and across most cancer types, stages, and treatment regimens.

IN PRACTICE:

“This population-based cohort study demonstrated that patients with ASDs, particularly alopecia areata and Sjögren syndrome, experienced better survival outcomes, indicating that ASDs play an important role in cancer prognosis,” the study authors wrote. “Future studies are necessary to better understand the underlying immune mechanisms and explore how this knowledge can be applied to enhance patient care,” they added.

SOURCE:

The study was led by Li-Ting Kao, PhD, School of Pharmacy, National Defense Medical Center in Taipei, Taiwan, and was published online on July 2 in JAMA Dermatology.

LIMITATIONS:

The study did not account for potential confounding factors such as lifestyle factors, genetic predisposition, and environmental exposures. Additionally, clinical data on ASD severity, such as the extent of skin lesions, were unavailable.

DISCLOSURES:

The study received support through grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan. Kao disclosed receiving grants from IQVIA outside the submitted work.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.