Research Article Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Skin Cancer: An Assessment of Patient Risk Factors, Knowledge, and Skin Practices Jessica N. Kimmel, 1 Tiffany H. Taft, 1 and Laurie Keefer 1,2 1 Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Northwestern University School of Medicine, Arkes Family Pavilion Suite 1400, 676 North Saint Clair Street, Chicago, IL 60611, USA 2 Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Susan and Leonard Feinstein IBD Center, 17 East 102nd Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10029, USA Correspondence should be addressed to Jessica N. Kimmel; jessica.kimmel@northwestern.edu Received 14 October 2015; Accepted 26 January 2016 Academic Editor: G¨ unther Hofauer Copyright © 2016 Jessica N. Kimmel et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objective. Patients with infammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at increased risk from skin cancer. Aims include assessing IBD patients’ risk factors and knowledge of skin cancer and current skin protection practices to identify gaps in patient education regarding skin cancer prevention in IBD. Methods. IBD patients ≥ 18 years were recruited to complete an online survey. Results. 164 patients (mean age 43.5 years, 63% female) with IBD (67% Crohn’s disease, 31% ulcerative colitis, and 2% indeterminate colitis) were included. 12% ( = 19) of patients had a personal history and 34% ( = 55) had a family history of skin cancer. Females scored better on skin protection (16.94/32 versus 14.53/32,  ≤ 0.03) and awareness (35.16/40 versus 32.98/40,  ≤ 0.03). Patients over 40 years old scored better on prevention (17.45/28 versus 15.35/28,  = 0.03). Patients with skin cancer scored better on prevention (20.56/28 versus 15.75/28,  ≤ 0.001) and skin protection (21.47/32 versus 15.33/32,  ≤ 0.001). 61% of patients recognized the link between skin cancer and IBD. Conclusions. Te majority of IBD patients are aware of the link between skin cancer and IBD; however, skin protection practices are suboptimal. Tis emphasizes the role of healthcare professionals in providing further education for skin cancer prevention in the IBD population. 1. Introduction Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States and causes signifcant morbidity and mortality [1]. Infammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic autoimmune condition that is associated with increased risk of develop- ment of skin cancer. Proposed mechanisms predisposing IBD patients to skin cancer include chronic infammation, cellular damage, and underlying immune dysfunction leading to altered tumor surveillance [2–4]. Use of immunosuppressants in IBD patients has been shown to lead to a 4–7-fold increased risk of skin cancer and approximately half of IBD patients are exposed to these medications within 5 years of diagnosis [3]. Specifcally, the use of biologic and immunomodulating agents increases skin cancer risk [2–6]. Similarly, immunosuppression has been shown to accelerate the development of skin cancer in transplant patients; thus, routine skin exams are recom- mended [3, 4]. According to the United States Preventive Service Task Force, there is insufcient evidence to assess the risk versus beneft for general skin cancer screening [7]. In addition, there is a lack of data to support that early detection of skin cancer reduces morbidity and mortality [5]. However, patients with IBD have diferent risk factors for skin cancer development compared to the general population. Tus, these skin cancer screening recommendations may not be applicable to IBD patients. Despite the lack of specifc standardized guidelines for screening, there is general con- sensus among gastroenterologists that IBD patients should protect themselves from the sun and that annual skin cancer surveillance should be considered, especially for patients on biologic and immunomodulating agents [5, 8, 9]. Tus, it is important for IBD patients to be aware of their risk of skin cancer and to adopt preventive strategies for Hindawi Publishing Corporation Journal of Skin Cancer Volume 2016, Article ID 4632037, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/4632037