Skin Cancer Squamous Cell Carcinoma Transplant Patients
Host immune surveillance plays a role in determining the ability to develop SCC. Patients with lymphoproliferative disorders, transplants, and those undergoing chronic oral corticosteroid therapy are at high risk. Renal-transplant recipients have a 253-fold increase in the risk of SCC. SCCs are also more aggressive in renal transplant patients, in whom they are associated with a higher risk of metastasis than in the general population. HLA-B mismatching is significantly associated with the risk of SCC in renal-transplant recipients, as is HLA-DR homozygosity. The immunosuppressive medication used to prevent organ transplant rejection causes significant squamous cell carcinoma risks especially in sun-exposed skin. Transplant patients start to develop skin cancers, including squamous cell carcinomas about 5 years after starting their immunosuppressive medications. They develop these tumors at a rapid rate and therefore require more frequent follow up.
|
