Multiple sclerosis (MS) treatments belonging to the class of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) receptor modulators — such as Mayzent (siponimod) and Gilenya (fingolimod) — may be associated with a greater likelihood of skin cancer, results from a real-world study suggest.
The association was the greatest for a form of cancer called basal cell carcinoma, and was also observed for Lemtrada (alemtuzumab) and Mavenclad (cladribine), although to a lesser extent. Ocrevus (ocrelizumab) also seems to increase the likelihood of melanoma.
The findings, which stem from an analysis of skin cancers reported as treatment adverse events in the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), highlight the need for close skin monitoring in patients receiving such therapies, the researchers wrote.
The study, “S1P receptor modulators in Multiple Sclerosis: Detecting a potential skin cancer safety signal,” was published in the journal Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders.
S1P receptor modulators are a class of oral disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) that work to “trap” immune cells inside lymph nodes, preventing them from getting into the nervous system and causing damage.
Gilenya became the first treatment of this class to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2018, and was closely followed by Mayzent in 2019, Zeposia (ozanimod) in 2020, and Ponvory (ponesimod) in 2021.
“To Read this article in its entirety click this link: More Skin Cancer Reported to FDA From MS Patients on Some Oral DMTs.”