“For lip ca-nc-er, the risk also appears to be cumulative,” Dr. Daniels added. “That is, the longer that hydrochlorothiazide is used, the higher the risk of developing lip cancer.”
However, Dr Daniels cautioned strongly against stopping the popular medication without receiving medical advice from a doctor first, adding the skin cancer risk is something for prescribers and patients to be aware of.
“Hypertension is a condition that needs to be carefully managed,” says Dr. Daniels. “We don’t want anyone to suddenly stop taking hydrochlorothiazide out of fear of developing skin cancer.
“The skin cancer risk is something for prescribers to be aware of. Doctors may want to consider conducting more skin checks for their patients or reinforcing advice around sun-smart behaviors that everyone should be aware of, like adequate protection when UV is higher than three and avoiding sun exposure during peak UV times.”
Meanwhile, the manufacturers of hydrochlorothiazide have already gone on and updated the drug’s description to include this new side effect. Healthcare practitioners around the world are also being urged to acknowledge this new discovery and take it into consideration when prescribing hydrochlorothiazide.
“This [update] will help prescribers and patients to make informed choices about the benefits and risks of hydrochlorothiazide-containing medicines,” said a spokesperson from the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia (TGA).
“By informing physicians around the potential risk of skin cancer in Australia associated with this common treatment, we hope our findings can help improve the care of patients dealing with hypertension,” said Dr. Daniels.
As with so many other drugs with significant and often life-altering side-effects, researchers are already hard at work to look for better alternatives. In the meantime, it’s up to healthcare practitioners to determine in which cases of hypertension the prescription of hydrochlorothiazide is necessary despite the risks and in which – alternative methods can be pursued.
Even when hydrochlorothiazide is prescribed, however, the very least that can be done is to inform the patient of the new risks and instruct them on how to better protect themselves against skin and lip cancer.
