Is there a link between Non melanoma skin cancer and hydrochlorothiazide

AIMS Herein we evaluated the association between the use of Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) and the risk of NMSC both, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). BACKGROUND Even if the use of HCTZ is not related with the development of serious adverse drug reactions, in the last years, has been recorded the development of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in patients treated HCTZ, probably due to its photosensitizing capability. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the statistically significant difference (P<0.05) in the development of NMSC between HCTZ users and non-users, and the correlation (P<0.05) between HCTZ use and NMSC. METHODS We performed a retrospective study, in patients referred to general practitioners that, treated or not with antihypertensive drugs, developed or not skin cancer or NMSC. Controls were matched with test by age and sex. Using conditional logistic regression, we calculated odds ratios (ORs) for both skin cancer and NMSC associated with hydrochlorothiazide use. RESULTS In the present study, we enrolled 19,320 patients of these 10,110 (52.3%) received treatment with antihypertensive drugs. Of 10,110 patients, 3,870 were treated with HCTZ (38.3%). During the study, we failed to report an increased risk of NMSC in HCTZ-treated vs untreated patients. Gender stratification revealed an OR for NMSC of 1.36 for men and 0.56 for women. We did not find a dose-response relationship between HCTZ use and NMSC. CONCLUSIONS In the present study we failed to report an association between the use of HCTZ and the development of NMSC.