Eczema sufferers have lower skin cancer risk, News Study

“Eczema may reduce risk of skin cancer: Condition means sufferers are more likely to shed skin containing cancerous cells,” reports the Mail Online.

This headline follows a study which found that mice with a defect in their skin barrier were less likely to develop benign skin tumours. But the mice that did develop tumours were more likely to develop malignant tumours.

The researchers, funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC), the Wellcome Trust and Cancer Research UK, compared the effects of two cancer-causing chemicals in normal mice and mice with the barrier defect (the knock-out mice). The number of benign tumors per mouse was six times lower in knock-out mice than in normal mice. The findings suggest that defects in the epidermal barrier protected the genetically engineered mice against benign tumor formation.

Researchers found that both types of mice were equally susceptible to acquiring cancer-causing mutations. However, an exaggerated inflammatory reaction in knock-out mice led to enhanced shedding of potentially cancerous cells from the skin. This cancer-protective mechanism bears similarities to that which protects skin from environmental assaults such as bacteria.

Professor Fiona Watt, Director of the Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, said: ‘We are excited by our findings as they establish a clear link between cancer susceptibility and an allergic skin condition in our experimental model. They also support the view that modifying the body’s immune system is an important strategy in treating cancer.

‘I hope our study provides some small consolation to eczema sufferers – that this uncomfortable skin condition may actually be beneficial in some circumstances.’

Dr Mike Turner, Head of Infection and Immunobiology at the Wellcome Trust, said: ‘Skin cancer is on the rise in many countries and any insight into the body’s ability to prevent tumour formation is valuable in the fight against this form of cancer. These findings that eczema can protect individuals from skin cancer support theories linking allergies to cancer prevention and open up new avenues for exploration whilst providing some (small) comfort for those suffering from eczema.’

Agencies/Canadajournal