Malignancy in Renal Transplant Recipients

Kim, Gun Hwan; Choi, Jae Ho; Jeong, Joon Heon

Abstract

PURPOSE: Survival rate after renal transplantation has increased in according to the prolonged graft survival due to a development of new immunosuppressive agents and operative techniques. Therefore, the develpment of malignancy in renal transplant recipients has become the major cause of morbidity and mortality.
METHODS
The retrospective analysis was performed in 4 patients with malignancy among the 315 patients who underwent kidney transplantation in our hospital from August 1990 to March 2001 and 1 patient with malignancy who underwent kidney transplantation in other hospital and was followed up in our hospital.
RESULTS
In five malignancy, 3 were adenocarcinoma in stomach, 1 lobular carcinoma in breast and 1 squamous cell carcinoma in uterine cervix. The mean age of these patients at diagnosis of malignancy was 48.4 (35~60) and the average interval between renal transplantation and diagnosis of malignancy was 69.8 months. Surgical resection was done in all five patients. Chemotherapy was performed in 1 patients with advanced gastric cancer and 1 patient with breast cancer. Four patients are now alive and one patient was lost during follow-up period.
CONCLUSION
We reviewed the incidences and types of malignancy after renal transplantation in our hospital. Regular screening and careful surveillance are highly recommended in patients after renal transplantation.