WEDNESDAY, Nov. 8, 2023 -- Medicare beneficiaries with actinic keratoses (AKs) have an increased risk for skin cancer, according to a study published online Nov. 8 in JAMA Dermatology.

Cassandra Mohr, from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and colleagues calculated the absolute and relative risks for future skin cancer in a retrospective cohort study performed using a random sample of 4,999,999 fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries from 2009 through 2018. Patients with treated AKs were included and compared to a group of patients with seborrheic keratoses (SKs). The analysis included 555,945 patients with AKs (mean age, 74.0 years) and 481,024 patients with SKs (mean age, 73.3 years).

The researchers found that the absolute risk for skin cancer after a first AK was 6.3, 18.4, and 28.5 percent at one, three, and five years, respectively. Compared with patients with SKs, patients with AKs had an increased risk for skin cancer (adjusted hazard ratios, 2.17, 2.20, 2.63, 1.85, and 1.67 for any skin cancer, keratinocyte carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma [SCC], basal cell carcinoma [BCC], and melanoma, respectively).

"AKs may be valuable clinical markers of skin cancer risk, including SCC, BCC, and melanoma," the authors write. "Efforts to develop evidence-based recommendations for skin cancer surveillance in patients with AKs are paramount."