Acitretin for Secondary Prevention of Keratinocyte Cancers in a Veteran Population: A Retrospective Cohort Study

February 2021 | Volume 20 | Issue 2 | Editorials | 225 | Copyright © February 2021


Published online January 12, 2021

Rachel K. Lim,a Martin A.Weinstock MD PhD,b,c Shoshana M. Landow MD MPHb,c

aBrown University, Providence, RI
bWarren Alpert Medical School at Brown University, Providence, RI
cDermatoepidemiology Unit, Providence VA Medical Center, Providence, RI

population included in our study may be more representative of patients who seek KC prevention to avoid surgical procedures. Study limitations include small sample size and incomplete patient records. Notably, acitretin doses observed in this study were highly variable. Side effects of acitretin are dose-dependent,5 but there is no standard for chemoprevention. Further studies may determine whether doses low enough to be tolerated by elderly patients would be effective as chemoprevention, especially compared or in combination with possible alternative proposed interventions. Guidelines for chemoprevention for this high-risk elderly population, which demographic trends show will be enlarging in the coming decades, should be developed.

DISCLOSURES

Rachel K. Lim has no conflicts of interest to disclose. Martin A. Weinstock, MD, PhD has no conflicts of interest to disclose. Shoshana M. Landow, MD, MPH has no conflicts of interest to disclose.

REFERENCES

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  2. Zito G, Saotome I, Liu Z, et al. Spontaneous tumour regression in keratoac- anthomas is driven by Wnt/retinoic acid signalling cross-talk. Nat Commun. 2014;5:3543.
  3. Kadakia KC, Barton DL, Loprinzi CL, et al. Randomized controlled trial of acitretin versus placebo in patients at high-risk for basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin (North Central Cancer Treatment Group Study 969251). Cancer. 2012;118(8):2128-2137.
  4. Bavinck JN, Tieben LM, Van der Woude FJ, et al. Prevention of skin cancer and reduction of keratotic skin lesions during acitretin therapy in renal transplant recipients: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Clin Oncol. 1995;13(8):1933-1938.
  5. Pearce DJ, Klinger S, Ziel KK, Murad EJ, Rowell R, Feldman SR. Low-dose acitretin is associated with fewer adverse events than high-dose acitretin in the treatment of psoriasis. Arch Dermatol. 2006;142(8):1000-1004.

AUTHOR CORRESPONDENCE

Rachel K. Lim rachel_lim@brown.edu