Cutaneous carcinoma and 8-methoxypsoralen and ultraviolet A (PUVA) lentigines in Japanese patients with psoriasis treated with topical PUVA: a follow-up study of 214 patients

A total of 214 Japanese patients with psoriasis, under treatment with topical 8-methoxypsoralen and ultraviolet A (PUVA), were examined for malignant skin tumors and pigmented lesions during a follow-up period of up to 17 years (mean 5.8 years). One patient had developed multiple superficial basal cell carcinomas, and the remaining 213 patients had neither cutaneous carcinomas nor actinic keratoses. PUVA lentigines were seen in 89 patients (42%) and the incidence of lentigines increased as the number of PUVA treatments and the cumulative UVA dose increased. Melanocytic atypia was not observed histologically in 24 pigmented lesions examined. This report suggests that this topical PUVA regimen may not be highly carcinogenic in the Asian population.