According to recent results, patients with non-melanoma skin cancers are at increased risk of developing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). The prognostic significance of this association is unknown. Two cohorts of patients with a first diagnosis of non-melanoma skin cancer and a subsequent diagnosis of either NHL (n = 170) or colon cancer (n = 435) were established using national cancer registry data in Denmark. Two other cohorts of patients in whom NHL (n = 600) or colon cancer (n = 1,541) was the patients' first known malignancy served as comparison groups. Mortality rates were compared using Cox's regression analysis. Among patients younger than 80 years at NHL diagnosis, a history of non-melanoma skin cancer was associated with significantly increased mortality [relative risk (RR) = 1.54; 95% confidence interval: 1.19-1.99]. This association was present in both men (RR = 1.38; 1.02-1.86) and women (RR=2.15; 1.31-3.54) and was similar after both major subtypes of non-melanoma skin cancer. Overall, antedating non-melanoma skin cancer had no prognostic significance for colon cancer patients (RR = 1.00; 0.84-1.18). Whatever the underlying mechanism, our observation has potential clinical implications. If substantiated in other settings, NHL patients with prior non-melanoma skin cancer may constitute a subgroup of lymphoma patients in need of particular therapeutic attention. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.