Neoplasia in solid organ transplant recipients: single-center experience

The incidence of neoplasms among transplanted patients is increasing, being estimated at between 4% and 18% (mean = 6%). In this article we review the neoplasms in 2514 patients who underwent transplantation in our hospital between 1981 and 2002 including 1579 kidneys, 418 hearts, 430 livers, 70 lungs, and 17 pancreas. We observed 170 tumors in 117 patients. The most frequent neoplasm was skin and lip carcinoma (30 patients) followed by PTLD (18 patients). Our results concur with the literature with one exception, a low incidence of PTLD in heart transplants, which may only be explained due to the use of preventive therapy with antiretroviral drugs.