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Rare skin cancers of the sweat glands, hair, nails and mammary glands seem to be on the rise in the United States and scientists are trying to figure out why, according to a new study.Though the tumors, called cutaneous appendageal carcinomas, are still unusual, the article in the June issue of the Archives of Dermatology, a Journal of the American Medical Association publication, said their rates are apparently increasing among American patients.
The National Cancer Institute's Patrick W. Blake and colleagues studied trends as well as incidence and survival rates of the diseases using 16 cancer registries from 1978 to 2005 from a report called the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program.
About 5.1 cases per 1 million people developed the skin appendage tumors each year, with men more likely to get one of the cancers than women, researchers found. The most common type was cancer of the sweat glands, or apocrine-eccrine carcinoma.
The rates of the cancers were highest in non-Hispanic whites and lower in Hispanic whites, blacks, Asians and Pacific Islanders. The diseases' incidence rose with age, according to the findings, which showed a 100-fold difference between people aged 20 to 29 and those 80 and older.
Among the reasons for the apparent increase are the evolution of the classification of tumors, a rise in sun and UV radiation exposure and an aging population, study corresponding author Dr. Jorge R. Toro told AOL Health.
The tumors have also become more widely diagnosed over time, in part thanks to a spike in early screenings -- with a 150 percent jump in the incidence rates between 1978 to 1982 and 2002 to 2005. Sweat gland cancers increased 170 percent and cancers of the eyelid glands 217 percent, according to the researchers.
Dr. Jorge A. Garcia-Zuazaga, a dermatologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Ohio, said the carcinomas often appear as small red bumps or pimples on the skin that won't go away.
"We do think there's an environmental component," he told AOL Health. "There's more indoor tanning, more exposure to the sun and more early screening."
The tumors also develop more frequently in patients with compromised autoimmune systems and in conjunction with certain genetic diseases, he added.
The good news is that survival rates are relatively high: 99 percent over five years if the tumors are caught early and confined to one area and 43 percent if the cancer has spread.
A broader-based population study is needed to confirm the findings, Toro said.
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