Organ transplants can lead to later cancers

Organ transplants save lives. There can also be complications when it comes to having a new organ. The medication that stops the body from rejecting the new organ can also at times cause the body to develop cancer.

Some organ transplants are more prone to others when it comes to a later cancer diagnosis. In general transplant recipients have a higher risk of developing cancers. The most prevalent cancers among transplant patients are skin cancer and lymphomas (cancers of the lymph glands). There is also an increased risk of cervical, breast cancer and colorectal cancer. In the case of kidney transplants, skin cancers are a risk. There has been some recent advancements in lowering the risk of cancer for kidney transplant patients. One is switching patients to a newer class of immunosuppressants called mTOR inhibitors. The newer drug in clinical trials reduced the risk of new skin cancers considerably. Fifty-six percent of patients on the newer drug protocol developed new skin cancers compared to 81 percent of those on the current drug protocols. Unfortunately the newer drug also had more side effects which caused almost half of the patients in the trial to stop taking the drug. A small number of transplant recipients will develop lymphoma within a year of receiving their new organ. Most of the cases result from an acquired infection with the Epstein-Barr virus. The treatment for this type of cancer is limited at this time to reducing immunosuppressive medications, administering anti-viral agents, and chemotherapy. As with the skin cancer trials switching from tacrolimus to Sirolimus has shown some promise. The cancer generally takes place within the first year of transplant but that is not always the case. The highest risk of this disease is with child transplant patients. Toronto researchers at Toronto General Hospital are looking for ways to reduce the risk of cancer in transplant patients but it is at the clinic stage. During a brief telephone conversation with researcher Li Zhang it was not clear as to what stage the research is at. Zhang did say that she does not work with patients.