Cumulative incidence and timing of subsequent cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas stratified for patients with organ transplantation and hematologic malignancies: A nationwide cohort study

Abstract

Background: There is lack of nationwide data on the cumulative incidence and timing of subsequent cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (cSCCs) among patients with a first cSCC.

Objective: To investigate the cumulative incidence and timing of subsequent cSCCs.

Methods: Patients with a first cSCC in 2007/2008 from the Netherlands Cancer Registry were linked to the Netherlands Pathology Registry for subsequent cSCCs and the Netherlands Organ Transplant Registry. Cumulative incidence function curves were calculated for subsequent cSCCs and stratified for immune status.

Results: Among the 12,345 patients, second to sixth cSCC occurred in 4325, 2010, 1138, 739, and 501 patients, with median time intervals of 1.4, 1.2, 0.9, 0.6, and 0.5 years after the previous cSCC, respectively. The cumulative incidence of a subsequent cSCC at 5 years increased from 28% to 67% for the second to sixth cSCC. For solid organ transplant recipients, the cumulative incidences increased from 74% to 92% and from 41% to 64% for patients with hematologic malignancy.

Limitations: Only histopathologically confirmed cSCCs were included.

Conclusion: The risk of a subsequent cSCC steeply rises with the number of prior cSCCs and immune status, while the time interval decreases. This can support more informed decisions about follow-up management.

Keywords: cancer registry; clinical dermatology; cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma; epidemiology; hematologic malignancy; incidence; oncology; organ transplantation.