Abstract
Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease characterized by destruction of melanocytes and associated with other autoimmune disease. Whether the dysregulation of immune system enhances oncogenesis or not remains obscure. Until now, no nationwide population-based study has been conducted regarding this. As such, this paper aims to clarify cancer risk in vitiligo patients. A retrospective nationwide population-based cohort study between 2000 and 2010 was performed based on data from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan. Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs) of cancers were analyzed. Among the 12,391 vitiligo patients (5364 males and 7027 females) and 48,531.09 person-years of observation, a total of 345 cancers were identified. Significantly increased SIRs were observed for prostate cancer in male patients, thyroid cancer and breast cancer in female patients and bladder cancers in both male and female patients. Unfortunately, the low incidence rate of certain cancers limited the power of our statistical analyses. This study demonstrated the patterns of malignancies in vitiligo patients of Taiwan. Compared with the general population, male patients had higher risks of prostate cancer and female patients had higher risks of thyroid cancer and breast cancer. The risks of bladder cancer were also increased in both male and female patients.
Highlights
Vitiligo affects people worldwide with a prevalence of 0.38%–1% among different populations [1,2]
We examined the associations among vitiligo patients and specific cancer types using Standardized incidence ratios (SIRs)
The total cohort consisted of 12,391 vitiligo patients (5364 men and 7027 women) with a mean age
Summary
Vitiligo affects people worldwide with a prevalence of 0.38%–1% among different populations [1,2]. It usually begins in childhood or young adulthood and the peak of onset is at 10–30 years. Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease characterized by destruction of melanocytes. As the immune system affects oncogenesis greatly [5,6], it raises interest to elucidate how the dysregulated immune system in vitiligo patients influences cancer development. Previous studies showed multiple associations between autoimmune diseases and cancer [6]. No population-based cohort studies regarding cancer risk in vitiligo patients had been performed.
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