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Updated: Aug 14, 2026
02:28
Measuring Psoriasis Severity at Home
Published on: March 1, 2024
Inflammatory Manifestations, Therapeutic Interventions, and Cancer Risk in Psoriasis: Current Epidemiological and
Aikaterini Lymperi1, Evgenia Lamprianidou1, Theodora Adamantidi1
1Hephaestus Laboratory, School of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Kavala University Campus, 65404 Kavala, Greece.
International Journal of Molecular Sciences
|August 13, 2026
Summary
Psoriasis patients face higher risks of cancer and cardiovascular diseases due to chronic inflammation. Research on treatments
Area of Science:
- Dermatology and Immunology
- Oncology
- Cardiology
Background:
- Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune skin condition marked by inflammation, impacting quality of life and increasing risks for comorbidities like psoriatic arthritis, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and depression.
- Epidemiological data suggest a link between psoriasis and elevated risks for malignancies, including breast cancer (BC) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), though mechanisms and consistency require further investigation.
- Therapeutic strategies for psoriasis, encompassing topical agents, conventional systemic drugs, and biologics, are being evaluated for potential associations with malignancy risk.
Purpose of the Study:
- To synthesize current epidemiological and mechanistic evidence connecting psoriasis, chronic inflammation, and therapeutic interventions with cancer risk and cardiovascular comorbidities.
- To critically evaluate the heterogeneity in existing studies regarding treatment-related cancer risk and its confounding factors.
- To highlight the need for robust prospective studies and standardized methodologies to clarify causal relationships.
Main Methods:
- Review of epidemiological evidence and mechanistic studies on psoriasis, comorbidities, and malignancy risk.
- Analysis of data concerning various psoriasis treatments (conventional, biological, JAK inhibitors) and their reported associations with cancer.
- Examination of the role of inflammatory markers (NLR, PLR, SII) in monitoring disease activity and treatment response.
Main Results:
- Evidence suggests associations between psoriasis and increased risks for certain cancers (e.g., BC, NHL) and CVDs, driven by underlying inflammation.
- Heterogeneity exists in studies linking psoriasis therapies to malignancy risk, influenced by disease severity, treatment duration, and patient factors.
- Some observational studies indicate higher lymphoma and non-melanoma skin cancer rates with Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors compared to tumor necrosis factor α inhibitors (TNFi-α).
Conclusions:
- Substantial heterogeneity across studies precludes definitive conclusions on causality between psoriasis, its treatments, and cancer or CVD risk.
- Inflammatory markers show utility in monitoring disease and treatment response, but their direct link to malignancy or CVD risk requires further study.
- Large prospective studies with standardized approaches are essential to elucidate the complex interplay between psoriasis, inflammation, treatment, and long-term health outcomes.
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