The Possible Association of CCCA with Breast Cancer

Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) is a scarring alopecia that affects many black women age 35-60 years. A 2021 study from the University of Pennsylvania leads us in a potentially new direction in understanding comorbidities associated with CCCA.

The researchers performed a cross-sectional study of black women aged 18 years or older who presented to the University of Pennsylvania Health System over the 4 year period April 13, 2016, to April 13, 2020. Patients with CCCA were identified in electronic databases based on coding. Patients with breast cancer or colon cancer were also identified by standard coding.

There were over 225,000 black women treated during this four-year period within the University of PennsylvaniaHealth System. There were 742 patients identified with a clinical diagnosis of CCCA. 4.7 % of these women had a diagnosis of breast cancer compared to 1.8 % of controls. This corresponded to an odds ratio of 2.61. 149 of the 742 patients had a biopsy that confirmed the diagnosis of CCCA. 4.4 % of these 149 patients had a diagnosis of breast cancer, corresponding again to an evaluated odds ratio of 2.49.

There was no increased risk of colon cancer among women with CCCA.

Summary and Comment

This is an important study and opens the door for other confirmatory studies. These data suggest that women with CCCA may be at increased risk for breast cancer. I’m eagerly awaiting other studies that refute or confirm these findings.

Reference

Brown-Korsah JB et al. Association of breast and colorectal cancer in patients with central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia: A retrospective, cross-sectional pilot study. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 2021 Mar;84(3):859-860.