An observational and genetic investigation into the association between psoriasis and risk of malignancy

The relationship between psoriasis and site-specific cancers remains unclear. Here, we aim to investigate whether psoriasis is causally associated with site-specific cancers. We use observational and genetic data from the UK Biobank, obtaining GWAS summary data, eQTL analysis data, TCGA data, and GTEx data from public datasets. We perform PheWAS, polygenic risk score analysis, and one-sample and two-sample Mendelian randomization analyses to investigate the potential causal associations between psoriasis and cancers. In the unselected PheWAS analysis, psoriasis is associated with higher risks of 16 types of cancer. Using one-sample Mendelian randomization analyses, it is found that genetically predicted psoriasis is associated with higher risks of anal canal cancer, breast cancer, follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer in women; and lung cancer and kidney cancer in men. Our two-sample Mendelian randomization analysis indicates that psoriasis is causally associated with breast cancer and lung cancer. Gene annotation shows that psoriasis-related genes, such as ERAP1, are significantly different in lung and breast cancer tissues. Taken together, clinical attention to lung cancer and breast cancer may be warranted among patients with psoriasis.