Cohort study of cancer risk in solid organ transplant recipients with a pretransplant cancer history

Cancer survivors are at elevated risk of developing subsequent cancer. Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients also have elevated cancer risk, but the pattern of subsequent cancer risk among SOT recipients with a pretransplant cance has not been studied. A cohort study of 520,424 SOT recipients evaluated 33 types of posttransplant cancer in relation to 18 types of pretransplant cancer. Posttransplant cancer risks were elevated among SOT recipient with a pretransplant diagnosis of the same type for cancer of the breast, lung, kidney, bladder, liver, and colorectum, and melanoma. Other significant associations included lever followed by lung cancer of by prostate cancer, bladder cancer followed by lung cancer, kidney cancer followed by thyroid cancer, and intrahepatic bile duct cancer followed by pancreatic cancer. Some associations with subsequent cancer risk differed between SOT recipients and the general population. The authors conclude that these findings indicate that SOT recipients with pretransplant cancers need close monitoring and may require enhanced screening for certain cancers.