Study: Elevated risk of cancer-related mortality in organ transplant patients

Editor's Note

This 20-year study of more than 11,000 solid organ transplant patients found they had a 1.93 to 2.84 times higher risk of dying from cancer.

The risk was highest for skin cancer, followed by non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and liver cancer.

The administration of immunosuppressants or less aggressive cancer treatment in transplant patients because of fear of transplant rejection could be factors in the increased mortality risk, the authors say.

Importance Solid-organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) are at greater risk of developing some cancers than the general population; however, because they are also at increased risk of mortality from noncancer causes, the effect of transplantation on cancer mortality is unclear.