Incidence of Primary and Second Cancers in Renal Transplant Recipients: A Multicenter Cohort Study

Limited data exist about cancer prognosis and the development of second cancers in renal transplant recipients. In a retrospective cohort study on 3537 patients incidence rates of the first and, if any, of a second cancer, and standardized incidence ratios [SIR (95% CI)] were computed. Two hundred and sixty-three (7.5%) patients developed a NMSC, and 253 (7.2%) another type of cancer after a median follow-up of 6.5 and 9.0 years, respectively. A statistically significant excess risk, if compared to an age- and sex-matched reference general population, was observed for Kaposi sarcoma and NMSC, followed by non-Hodgkin lymphoma and carcinoma of cervix uteri; a small number of unusual cancers such as tumors of the salivary glands, small intestine and thyroid also were detected at a level worthy of additional scrutiny. Ten-year survival rate of all noncutaneous cancers was 71.3%, with lower rates for lung carcinoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (0% and 41.7%, respectively). Patients with NMSC had an increased risk of developing a second NMSC [SIR 8.3 (7.0–10.0)], and patients with a primary noncutaneous cancer had increased risk of developing a second noncutaneous cancer [SIR 1.8 (1.2–2.8)], if compared to the whole cohort. Our study underscore that the high risk of primary and second cancer in renal transplant recipients, including unusual cancers.