Cancer after kidney transplantation
Cancer is a major cause of mortality and morbidity after transplantation. The overall risk of cancer among transplant recipients is at least 2.5–3-fold greater than that of the age- and gender-matched general population. The increased risk is also type specific, and is greatest among virus-related neoplasms such as Kaposi sarcoma, post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease, and vulvovaginal cancers, with an excess risk of at least 9–20 times greater than that of the general population. Cancer prognoses are also poor in transplant recipients, with less than 10% surviving 5 years after initial diagnoses. Despite the increased cancer risk, little is known about the efficacy of treatment, the screening strategies, and the outcomes of patients with cancer and kidney transplants. Uncertainties also exist as to how the various types of modern immunosuppression impact on recipients’ overall long-term survival and quality of life. This chapter discusses the incidence and prognoses of patients with de novo cancer after transplantation, the epidemiology of donor cancer transmission, the outcomes of transplanting patients with a prior history of cancer, as well as the different approaches to cancer screening and management after kidney transplantation.