Ultraviolet B phototherapy does not increase the risk of skin cancer among patients with atopic dermatitis: A population-based retrospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: UV-B phototherapy is a common treatment modality for patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), but its long-term safety in terms of cutaneous carcinogenic risk has not been studied. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk of skin cancer among patients with AD receiving UV-B phototherapy. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide population-based cohort study from 2001 to 2018 to estimate the risk of UV-B phototherapy for skin cancer, nonmelanoma skin cancer, and cutaneous melanoma in patients with AD. RESULTS: Among 6205 patients with AD, the risks of skin cancer (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 0.91; 95% CI, 0.35-2.35), nonmelanoma skin cancer (adjusted HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.29-2.26), and cutaneous melanoma (adjusted HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.08-7.64) did not increase among patients with AD treated with UV-B phototherapy, compared with those who did not receive UV-B phototherapy. Additionally, the number of UV-B phototherapy sessions was not associated with an increased risk of skin cancer (adjusted HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.96-1.02), nonmelanoma skin cancer (adjusted HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.96-1.03), or cutaneous melanoma (adjusted HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.77-1.15). LIMITATIONS: Retrospective study. CONCLUSION: Neither UV-B phototherapy nor the number of UV-B phototherapy sessions was associated with an increased risk of skin cancers among patients with AD.

Risk of Skin Cancer among Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease Treated with Ultraviolet B Phototherapy for Uraemic Pruritus: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

The safety of ultraviolet B (UVB) phototherapy with respect to cutaneous carcinogenesis has not been established for patients with chronic kidney disease. To investigate this issue, a nationwide cohort study of 10,805 patients with advanced chronic kidney disease was conducted using data from the National Health Insurance of Taiwan, the Taiwan Cancer Registry, and the national death registry. After a median follow-up of 75 months, 16 of 2,161 patients in the UVB group and 63 of 8,644 patients in the non-UVB group developed skin cancers. Compared with the non-UVB group, patients in the UVB group did not show an increased risk of skin cancer (hazard ratio 1.066; 95% confidence interval 0.584-1.944), non-melanoma skin cancer (hazard ratio 1.067; 95% confidence interval 0.571-1.996), or cutaneous melanoma (hazard ratio 1.009; 95% confidence interval 0.115-8.879). In addition, patients who received more UVB phototherapy did not show an increased risk of skin cancer. UVB phototherapy appears to be a safe treatment for uraemic pruritus in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Effect of Atomic Size Difference on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of High-Entropy Alloys.

The effects of atomic size difference on the microstructure and mechanical properties of single face-centered cubic (FCC) phase high-entropy alloys are studied. Single FCC phase high-entropy alloys, namely, CoCrFeMnNi, Al0.2CoCrFeMnNi, and Al0.3CoCrCu0.3FeNi, display good workability. The recrystallization and grain growth rates are compared during annealing. Adding Al with 0.2 molar ratio into CoCrFeMnNi retains the single FCC phase. Its atomic size difference increases from 1.18% to 2.77%, and the activation energy of grain growth becomes larger than that of CoCrFeMnNi. The as-homogenized state of Al0.3CoCrCu0.3FeNi high-entropy alloy becomes a single FCC structure. Its atomic size difference is 3.65%, and the grain growth activation energy is the largest among these three kinds of single-phase high-entropy alloys. At ambient temperature, the mechanical properties of Al0.3CoCrCu0.3FeNi are better than those of CoCrFeMnNi because of high lattice distortion and high solid solution hardening.

Is birth cohort 1985/9-1990/8 a susceptibility window for congenital rubella syndrome in Taiwan?

OBJECTIVE: The worldwide prevalence of congenital rubella syndrome has drastically decreased after the uptake of vaccine to prevent the infection. However, outbreaks have occurred in some countries due to their own vaccination policies, and this phenomenon has not yet been investigated in Taiwan. Our study aims to fill this gap. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We constructed an analytical database containing 10,824 pregnant women at the Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan from January 2004 to July 2012. They were categorized into five birth cohorts according to the different vaccination programs in Taiwan: those born before 1971; those born between September 1971 and August 1976; between September 1976 and August 1979; between September 1979 and August 1985; and between September 1985 and August 1990. Differences of the seronegative rate and titers were compared using the Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis tests among the five cohorts. RESULTS: The seronegative rates for the five cohorts were 15.00%, 4.07%, 2.88%, 4.21%, and 10.98%, respectively, and were statistically significant different (p < 0.001). The first and fifth cohorts were higher than the average of seronegativity (5%). The mean of log transformed titers were 3.69 IU/mL, 4.22 IU/mL, 4.22 IU/mL, 4.05 IU/mL, and 3.44 IU/mL, which were statistically significant different (p<0.001). Our study also found that the equivocal rates (7.58%) were the highest in the cohort born between September 1985 and August 1990, among those who had been vaccinated. Our study showed that women younger than 27 years had a lower geometric mean titer of antibody titer than the average (60.60 IU/mL). CONCLUSION: The previous vaccination policy in Taiwan has created a susceptibility window for rubella and congenital rubella syndrome over the past decades. We recommend having the antibody test before pregnancy for women born between September 1985 and August 1990, and implement a catch-up vaccine for those who were either seronegative or equivocal to prevent reinfection during their childbearing period.