What are the potential long-term effects associated with PUVA therapy?
Skin cancer. Some people are at a higher risk than the normal population for developing skin cancer, including people who have had previous non-melanoma skin cancer, arsenic therapy or X-ray therapy to the skin, as well as individuals with extremely light complexions which always burn and never tan. In general, these patients are not considered for PUVA therapy unless strong extenuating circumstances exist in favor of it. For all other patients, there may be a minimally higher incidence of skin cancer. Because it is impossible to know exactly how much light a patient needs in order to produce a skin cancer, your skin should frequently be examined for abnormal growths throughout your PUVA therapy.
