Renal transplant recipients have an increased risk of malignancies, especially nonmelanoma skin cancers, compared with the normal population. The aim of the present study was to analyze the incidence of skin malignancies in a setting of renal transplant recipients over 20 years follow-up.
Patients and methods: This retrospective analysis of medical records included posttransplant patients with biopsy-proven skin cancer. Recipients of pancreas kidney transplants or with suspected but not biopsy-proven skin malignancy were excluded from this series.
Results: Among 1300 renal transplant recipients from January 1984 to December 2006, 33 (2.5%) were diagnosed with skin malignancies during follow-up. The majority of patients were men (70.2%), of white race (97%), and with a mean posttransplant follow-up of 65 months. The most frequent skin cancer was squamous cell carcinoma (46.2%), in single or multiple lesions (50% each group). Basal cell carcinoma was diagnosed in seven patients; most presented as a single lesion (71.3%). Eight patients presented with more than one histologic type of skin cancer; most frequently squamous and basal cell carcinomas. Kaposi sarcoma was diagnosed in four patients, one of whom also had a basal cell carcinoma.
Conclusion: The incidence of skin malignancies in this series was 2.5%. The most frequent tumor was squamous cell carcinoma, isolated or in association with basal cell carcinoma. An higher frequency was observed in white male patients, at a mean follow-up of 5 years posttransplantation.