engleski

Non-melanoma skin cancer in renal transplant recpipents: Do we still overlook it?

Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most frequent cancer in renal transplant recipients (RTRs). Clinical and epidemiological studies indicate that long-life immunosuppressive therapy, essential for preventing graft rejection and obtaining adequate graft function after renal transplantation, combined with older age at transplantation, total sun burden during life, fair skin type and personal history of treated NMSC before transplantation, are the most important risk factors for NMSC development. Since RTRs are more susceptible of developing more aggressive types of skin cancers, especially squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), it is of great importance to develop cancer awareness in those patients, making them sensitive to sun protection and regular dermatologic and skin self- examination. Immunosuppressive therapy, the risk factor of high importance, has to be individually tailored and, if necessary, altered in order to decrease cancer formation as much as possible still preserving graft survival and function. Therefore, interdisciplinary approach, including primarily nephrologists and dermatologists, should be employed when following RTRs which enables prevention, early diagnosing and adequate treatment of NMSC in those patients.

renal transplantation, immunosuppression, skin cancer, epidemiologic studies

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