Comparison of the Pharmacoeconomic Profiles of Treatment Regimens for Field Pattern Actinic Keratoses

The document reports on a study that investigated the association between antihypertensive drugs, specifically angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEis), angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs), and thiazides (TZs), and the risk of skin cancer, including malignant melanoma (MM), basal cell carcinoma (BCC), and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). The study utilized the Northwestern Medicine Enterprise Data Warehouse to identify patients aged 18-89 years who had two consecutive prescriptions for an ACEI, ARB, or TZ and then developed MM, BCC, or SCC at least two months after drug exposure. The control group consisted of individuals not exposed to antihypertensive drugs. The results, based on 635,687 individuals, showed a significant increased risk of melanoma for patients exposed to ARBs (OR: 2.21) and TZs (OR: 2.03), an increased risk of basal cell carcinoma for ARBs (OR: 1.36) and ACEis (OR: 1.31), and an increased risk of squamous cell carcinoma for ARBs (OR: 1.75), ACEis (OR: 1.59), and TZs (OR: 3.47). The study concluded that there is an association between these antihypertensive agents and an increased risk of skin cancer, which has clinical relevance for the choice of antihypertensive treatment, especially in patients with known skin cancer risk factors. Increased pharmacovigilance and education for both patients and healthcare providers are recommended due to the widespread use of these drugs. No commercial support was identified for this study.