It has been suggested that
trioxsalen bath and ultraviolet (UV) A (PUVA) is associated with a very low or no risk of non-
melanoma skin cancer, but the numbers of patients in individual studies have been limited. In order to attain statistically relevant information about the
cancer risk associated with
trioxsalen bath PUVA, two follow-up studies were combined and the joined
cancer incidence was analysed among 944 Swedish and Finnish patients with
psoriasis. The mean follow-up time for
skin cancer was 14.7 years. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were calculated as a ratio of observed and expected numbers of cases. The expected numbers of cases were based on the national
cancer incidence rates in the respective countries. There was no excess of squamous cell skin
carcinoma [SIR 1.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.2-3.2] or
malignant melanoma (SIR 0.9, 95% CI 0.1-3.2) in the combined cohort. Basal cell skin
carcinoma was not studied. The incidence of all non-cutaneous
cancers was not increased (SIR 1.1, 95% CI 0.8-1.4). A threefold excess risk of squamous cell skin
carcinoma after
trioxsalen bath PUVA could therefore be excluded, which is a markedly lower risk than that associated with oral
8-methoxypsoralen PUVA. The result needs to be confirmed in a future follow-up, however, as the number of patients with high PUVA exposures was low.