Urologic Malignancies in Kidney Transplantation

With advances in immunosuppression, graft and patient outcomes after kidney transplantation have improved considerably. As a result, long-term complications of transplant, such as urologic malignancies, have become increasingly important. Kidney transplant recipients, for example, have a seven-fold risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and three-fold risk of urothelial carcinoma (UC) compared to the general population. While extrapolation of data from the general population suggest that routine cancer screening in transplant recipients would allow for earlier diagnosis and management of these potentially lethal malignancies, currently there is no consensus for post-transplant RCC or UC screening as supporting data are limited. Further understanding of risk factors, presentation, optimal management of and screening for urologic malignancies in kidney transplant patients is warranted, and as such, this review will focus on the incidence, surveillance, and treatment of urologic malignancies in kidney transplant recipients. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons. 2017 Oct 06 [Epub ahead of print]

Laura A Hickman, Deirdre Sawinski, Thomas Guzzo, Jayme E Locke

Department of Surgery Division of Transplantation, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine., Department of Medicine, Renal Electrolyte and Hypertension Division University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine., Department of Urology, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine.