A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows that kidney transplant patients are at greater risk of developing melanoma.
Scientists analysed the records held in the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) relating to the 105,174 individuals “who underwent kidney transplant surgery between 2004 and 2012“. The average age of these patients was 49.6 years and 60.7% were male. Patients with a history of melanoma prior to receiving the transplant were excluded from the study.
“The results show that 488 patients (0.4%) developed melanoma post-transplantation“, i.e. 4.99 times the figure recorded in the general population according to Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data generated by the National Cancer Institute in the United States.
Sciences et avenir (09/12/2017)