Increased risk for nonmelanoma skin cancers in patients who receive thiopurines for inflammatory bowel disease.

International audience; BACKGROUND & AIMS: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) who have been exposed to thiopurines might have an increased risk of skin cancer. We assessed this risk among patients in France. METHODS: We performed a prospective observational cohort study of 19,486 patients with IBD, enrolled from May 2004 to June 2005, who were followed up until December 31, 2007. The incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) in the general population, used for reference, was determined from the French Network of Cancer Registries. RESULTS: Before the age of 50 years, the crude incidence rates of NMSC among patients currently receiving or who previously received thiopurines wer…