Skin Cancer Increases Risk Of Secondary Cancer

By Dr. Brian McDonough, Medical Editor

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The most common form of skin cancer is non-melanoma skin cancer. We know that people affected by it are at an increased risk for developing another type of cancer later in life.

Researchers compared 769 people who had non-melanoma skin cancer to over 18,000 people without skin cancer. Results showed that over a 16-year period, people who had skin cancer were twice as likely to develop a second non-skin cancer as healthy controls.

The strongest link between skin cancer and developing a later, secondary cancer occurred in the youngest patients. They were aged 25 to 54.

There are approximately one million cases of skin cancer in the United States each year.

You've got to realize this research came from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and the work was done at the University of South Carolina, so there is definitely some validity to it; the study and its findings.