MULTIPLE KERATINOCYTIC CANCERS AFTER INTAKE OF ANTIHYPERTENSIVES (LISINOPRIL/BISOPROLOL/HCT) AND ANTIARRHYTMICS...

The pathogenesis of cutaneous tumors has been known for decades yet remains largely unexplained or incompletely understood. The reason for this mystery lies in the concepts of photosensitivity and phototoxicity: how do they arise or what actually causes them? Recently published data in the medical literature link certain nitrosamines such as nitrosomorpholine, for example, to gene and phototoxicity in humans. A number of other nitrosamines analogous in action and structure are found as contaminants in about 300 of the most widely distributed pharmaceuticals worldwide: NDEA, NDMA, NMBA and many others. These contaminated drugs include beta blockers/ bisoprolol/, thiazide diuretics/ hydrochlorothiazide/, antiarrhythmics/ propafenone/, ACE inhibitors/ lisinopril/, but also a number of other drugs which are, according to the FDA, found to have contaminants with a certain carcinogenic potency ranging between 1 and 5. The phototoxicity and genotoxicity of these contaminants, attributed to the pathogenesis of skin tumors, still remain a mystery. The problems of the intake of the above-mentioned groups of drugs arise mainly on the basis of the official bulletins of the regulatory bodies, namely that: in practice, the intake of polymedication could in many cases also be considered as regular, permanent, long-term intake of contaminants/carcinogens/mutagens of heterogeneous type, also known as nitrosamines or NDSRIs. Nitrosamines are genome modifiers in humans and cause acquired mutations. Their concomitant administration in the context of standard, but currently not yet officially declared as contaminated polymedication, would be able to block certain tumor suppressor genes (p53) as well as activate RAS oncogenes. Or in practice- daily administration of a particular combination of drugs could activate the cascades of carcinogenesis regulating the genesis of skin cancer. Precisely because of this fact, it should not be surprising to anyone that the concurrent intake of the aforementioned drugs could also be associated with the clinical manifestation of multiple keratinocytic tumors. We describe a consecutive case of a patient who developed 4 keratinocytic tumors: 2 basal cell carcinomas, 1 keratoacanthoma, and 1 squamous cell carcinoma on a background of potentially contaminated polymedication with propafenone, lisinopril, hydrochlorothiazide, and bisoprolol. Recently published innovative international data on the topic are discussed in the context of concepts such as drug-mediated nitrosogenesis, photonitrosо-carcinogenesis and metabolic programming/ reprogramming of the tumor cell.