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Heart transplant patients at risk for serious skin cancers, study finds

Date:
June 30, 2011
Source:
Wiley-Blackwell
Summary:
A new study reveals that there is a significant risk of serious skin cancers, including cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma, in heart transplant patients.
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A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation reveals that there is a significant risk of serious skin cancers, including cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma, in heart transplant patients.

When people receive heart transplants, they need immune medications to keep their body from rejecting the transplant. The changes to the immune system they experience as a result of the medications can also make them more susceptible to developing cancers.

Led by Murad Alam, MD, MSCI, of Northwestern University, researchers studied 10 years of patient information regarding 6271 heart transplants at 32 U.S. transplant centers.

Results showed that when looking at what happened to many patients transplanted over a decade at various places in the U.S., these heart transplant patients were more likely to get skin cancers than other patients who had not had such transplants. The incidence increased post-transplant from 4- to 30-fold.

"Improved patient education and appropriately increased screening and detection of skin cancers in heart transplant patients may potentially reduce their risk of serious morbidity and mortality," Alam notes.


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Materials provided by Wiley-Blackwell. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. M. Alam, R. N. Brown, D. H. Silber, G. M. Mullen, D. S. Feldman, R. M. Oren, C. W. Yancy. Increased Incidence and Mortality Associated With Skin Cancers After Cardiac Transplant. American Journal of Transplantation, 2011; 11 (7): 1488 DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-6143.2011.03598.x

Cite This Page:

Wiley-Blackwell. "Heart transplant patients at risk for serious skin cancers, study finds." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 30 June 2011. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110630142851.htm>.
Wiley-Blackwell. (2011, June 30). Heart transplant patients at risk for serious skin cancers, study finds. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110630142851.htm
Wiley-Blackwell. "Heart transplant patients at risk for serious skin cancers, study finds." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110630142851.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

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