Annette Østergaard Jensen, Claus Sværke, Dora Farkas, Lars Pedersen, Knud Kragballe, Henrik Toft Sørensen
DOI: 10.2340/00015555-0919

This study assessed the risk of skin cancer following transplantation of 4 types of solid organs, and the risk of skin cancer in patients with chronic diseases that lead to organ transplantations. A population-based cohort of 5279 Danish patients who underwent heart, lung, renal and liver transplantation, and 77,782 patients with chronic heart, lung, renal and liver diseases during 1977–2006 were included in the study. Linkage to the Danish Cancer Registry allowed complete follow-up for basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. The SIR for squamous cell carcinoma was highest among heart (SIR = 113; 95% CI: 74–166), then renal (SIR = 81; 95% CI: 68–96), lung (SIR = 65; 95% CI: 28–128) and liver (SIR = 60; 95% CI: 27–113) recipients. SIR for squamous cell carcinoma was 4.8 (95% CI: 2.2–9.0) among renal failure patients, but not greatly elevated among patients with the other chronic diseases studied. Organ transplantation is a risk factor for squamous cell carcinoma, with immunosuppressive treatments being the most likely explanation for the association.