Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 20, 2026
![Chemical-Induced Skin Carcinogenesis Model Using Dimethylbenz[a]Anthracene and 12-O-Tetradecanoyl Phorbol-13-Acetate DMBA-TPA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcloudfront.jove.com%2FCDNSource%2Fteasers%2F60445.jpg&w=3840&q=50)
Chemical-Induced Skin Carcinogenesis Model Using Dimethylbenz[a]Anthracene and 12-O-Tetradecanoyl Phorbol-13-Acetate DMBA-TPA
Published on: December 19, 2019
Tetracycline use and risk of incident skin cancer: a prospective study
Wen-Qing Li1,2,3, Aaron M Drucker2, Eunyoung Cho2,3,4
1Key Laboratory of Carcinogenesis and Translational Research (Ministry of Education/Beijing), Department of Cancer Epidemiology, Peking University Cancer Hospital & Institute, Beijing, China.
Background:
Tetracycline is a photosensitising medication that increases skin vulnerability to UV-related damage.
Methods:
We prospectively examined tetracycline use and risk of incident melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and basal cell carcinoma (BCC) based on 213 536 participants from the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), NHS2, and Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Information on ever use of tetracycline was asked via questionnaire. Diagnoses of melanoma and SCC were pathologically confirmed.
Results:
Tetracycline use was associated with a modestly increased risk of BCC (ncase=36 377), with a pooled hazard ratio (HR) of 1.11 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.02-1.21, P-trend=0.05 by duration of use). Tetracycline use was not significantly associated with melanoma (ncase=1831, HR=1.09, 95% CI=0.94-1.27) or SCC (ncase=3332, HR=1.04, 95% CI=0.91-1.18) risk overall. However, we observed positive interactions between tetracycline use and adulthood UV exposure on SCC risk (P-interaction=0.05).
Conclusion:
Tetracycline use was associated with a modestly increased risk of BCC, but was not associated with melanoma or SCC.
Related Concept Videos
Skin Cancer
Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC): BCC is the most common type of skin cancer, accounting for about 80% of cases. It typically develops in...
Cancer Prevention
Some...
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Targets: β₂-Adrenergic Receptors, Apo E, Thymidylate Synthase
Mutations
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
Mutagenicity and Carcinogenicity
Types of Biopharmaceutical Studies: Controlled and Non-Controlled Approaches
Non-controlled studies, commonly employed for initial exploration, lack a control group, rendering them susceptible to biases and external influences. In contrast,...

