Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2026
Donor Posterior Atrial Flap Rotation for Left Atrial Cuff Reconstruction in Lung Transplantation
Published on: October 11, 2024
Lung cancer in transplant recipients: a single-institution experience
Zahoor Ahmed1, M Blair Marshall, John C Kucharczuk
1Section of General Thoracic Surgery, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia 19104, USA.
Hypothesis:
That aggressive surgical treatment of lung cancer (LC) is justified by stage-based outcome in immunosuppressed solid organ transplant recipients.
Design:
Case series.
Setting:
University hospital.
Patients:
Lung cancer developed in 15 patients (0.28%) among a solid organ transplant recipient population of 5400 accrued at our institution over a 25-year period.
Main Outcome Measures:
Smoking prevalence, subtypes and stages of LC represented, operative morbidity, and survival.
Results:
The mean time from transplantation to the diagnosis of LC was 76 months (range, 9-192 months). Eight patients received kidneys; 3, lungs; and 4, hearts. Only 11 patients (73%) had a smoking history (mean, 66 pack-years). The following carcinomas developed in our patient population: adenocarcinoma, 6 patients; squamous cell, 5; large cell undifferentiated, 2; bronchoalveolar, 1; and small cell, 1. Eight patients (53%) presented with inoperable stage IIIB or IV disease. The remaining patients presented in stages IA (n = 2), IB (n = 1), IIB (n = 2), and IIIA (n = 2); all underwent resection. No major postoperative complications occurred. All patients with stage IIIB or greater disease with or without treatment died quickly (mean survival, 1.4 months; range, 0.33-3.0 months). All patients with stage IIB or less remain alive a mean of 37 months after resection. Patients with stage IIIA survived only a mean of 6.0 months despite resection.
Conclusions:
Regarding LCs in transplant recipients compared with LCs in the nontransplant population, we find that (1) there is an increased incidence among nonsmokers; (2) death occurs rapidly in unresected patients; (3) resection carries a low morbidity rate; and (4) resection seems to offer a high chance of cure in those with cancers staged IIB or less.
