Low DNA repair is a risk factor in skin carcinogenesis: a study of basal cell carcinoma in psoriasis patients

Citation
M. Dybdahl et al., Low DNA repair is a risk factor in skin carcinogenesis: a study of basal cell carcinoma in psoriasis patients, MUT R-DNA R, 433(1), 1999, pp. 15-22
Citations number
14
Categorie Soggetti
Molecular Biology & Genetics
Journal title
MUTATION RESEARCH-DNA REPAIR
ISSN journal
09218777 → ACNP
Volume
433
Issue
1
Year of publication
1999
Pages
15 - 22
Database
ISI
SICI code
0921-8777(19990126)433:1<15:LDRIAR>2.0.ZU;2-N
Abstract
We have studied DNA repair in patients with psoriasis aiming at investigati ng the importance of repair in chemically induced cancer. An increased risk of non-melanoma skin cancer has been observed in psoriasis patients extens ively treated with tar, methotrexate and photochemotherapy (psoralen + WA). We measured the DNA repair capacity (DRC) by a host cell reactivation (HCR ) assay in lymphocytes from psoriasis patients with and without basal cell cancer and non-psoriatic persons with and without basal cell cancer (4 x 20 study persons). Among psoriasis patients we observed a significant lower D RC in patients with skin cancer compared to patients without skin cancer(P = 0.015; Mann-Whitney, one-sided). Using the median of the healthy control group (group 4) as a cutoff value to divide the psoriasis patients into gro ups of high and low repair, we found that individuals who had a low repair capacity had a 6.4-fold increased skin cancer risk compared to individuals with high repair (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.44-28.5). The level of DN A repair was correlated with the age at which the psoriasis patients got th eir first skin cancer. The lower the level of DNA repair, the earlier the p soriasis patients had their first skin tumor (P = 0.070 Spearman; one-sided ). Psoriasis patients without BCC had marginally higher repair than healthy controls (P = 0.11, Mann-Whitney, two-sided). We found no difference betwe en BCC patients without psoriasis and healthy controls. In conclusion, thes e findings suggest a protective role of DNA repair in a predominantly chemi cally induced cancer. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.