People who receive a kidney transplant are nearly four times more likely than the general population to develop melanoma, a rare but deadly form of skin cancer, according to a study led by Christopher Hollenbeak, Ph.D., associate professor, Departments of Surgery and Health Evaluation Sciences, Penn State College of Medicine, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.
The study, to be published in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society (Nov.1, 2005 issue), indicates increased risk for patients who undergo kidney transplantation and who receive long-term immuno-suppression. Furthermore, risk was highest overall in men -increasing with age- but significantly lower in women and African-Americans.
"The take-home message is that kidney transplant patients-especially men-should have a regular, complete skin examination as part of their routine health care," says Hollenbeak. "In addition, kidney transplant recipients should be educated about melanoma and instructed on the importance of routine self-examination."
In the largest study to date, Hollenbeak and his colleagues compared melanoma incidence rates from a registry of renal transplant patients (89,786 patients) to melanoma incidence rates from general population data.
Of the various types of skin cancer, melanoma is one of the deadliest, with a mortality rate up to 6 percent in some regions of the world. The classic risk factors for melanoma are ultraviolet radiation, commonly caused by sunburns, a suppressed immune system, and family history of abnormal moles. Studies demonstrate that the immune system plays a critical role in monitoring the body for-and destroying-early cancerous cells, including melanoma.