PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania say they have found a link between psoriasis and immune system cancer lymphoma.
In a study published in the Archives of Dermatology, the researchers said they found people with psoriasis three times as likely to develop the cancer as those without the disease. However, they said, they do not know whether the condition itself or treatments boosted the risk of cancer.
"It is unlikely that psoriasis itself is responsible for the increased risk as there is no obvious link," Dr. Jane McGregor, a skin cancer expert from Cancer Research UK, told BBC News Online.
"However, we know patients with severe psoriasis are often treated with drugs that suppress the immune system, and these have been associated with an increased risk of lymphoma."
The researchers studied 108,000 patients at least 65 years of age. They said that even though psoriasis patients seemed to be at increased risk for that particular cancer, the overall risk was still low.
