Kidney transplantation increases the risk of certain types of cancer

SpiritIndia.com: Following kidney transplantation, some recipients may face a three-fold increased risk of certain cancer types, according to a study in the Dec. 20 issue of JAMA.

Immune suppression after organ transplantation is associated with a markedly increased risk of nonmelanoma skin cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and Kaposi sarcoma. Whether other cancers occur at increased rates is uncertain, because there have been few long-term population-based studies, according to background information in the article.

Claire M. Vajdic, Ph.D., of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, and colleagues compared the incidence of cancer in 28,855 patients with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) who received renal (kidney) replacement therapy (RRT). Data were collected for three separate time periods: the 5 years before RRT, during dialysis, and after transplantation. New cancers (1982-2003) were determined by record linkage between the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry and the Australian National Cancer Statistics Clearing House.

The researchers found that the overall incidence of cancer, excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer and those cancers known to frequently cause end-stage kidney disease, was markedly increased (3.27 times) after transplantation.

Read more of this story…