MALIGNANCY DEVELOPMENT IN RENAL TRANSPLANT PATIENTS

A high incidence of malignancy has been determined, as a complication of maintenance immunosupressive therapy in renal transplant patients. It has been shown in epidemiologic studies that the malignancies developing after renal transplantation are those which are uncommonly seen in the general population like non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Kaposi's sarcoma and squamous cell carcinoma, and the incidence of malignancy has been found as 3.4%-18% (average 6%). In this study, we retrospectively evaluated 161 cases who had undergone renal transplantation between the years of 1979-1995. We observed one bone lymphoma, one mesothelioma, one Bowen's disease and two Kaposi's sarcomas, and the percentage of malignancy in renal transplant cases was found 3.8%. In conclusion, maintenance immunsupressive therapy that supports survival of the renal allograft increases the incidence of some malignancies that are uncommonly seen in general population.