Skin cancer after pancreas transplantation

Skin cancer in patients who have undergone pancreas transplantation (PT) has not been extensively characterized.

We sought to describe the incidence, tumor burden, and risk factors for skin cancer in PT recipients at Mayo Clinic from 1998 through 2006.

A retrospective study was performed by analyzing outcomes among a cohort of pancreas allograft recipients at Mayo Clinic between 1998 and 2006.

Among 216 allogeneic PT recipients at 2, 5, and 10 years posttransplantation, the cumulative incidence of any skin cancer was 4.7%, 12.7%, and 19.6%; the cumulative incidence of squamous cell carcinoma was 2.8%, 10.3%, and 16.7%; and the cumulative incidence of basal cell carcinoma was 2.4%, 7.8%, and 17.4%, respectively. The cumulative incidence of a second squamous cell carcinoma developing was 56% at 2 years; the cumulative incidence of a second basal cell carcinoma developing was 36% at 2 years. Of the risk factors examined, only age and having a skin cancer before transplantation were predictive of skin cancer development.

This was a retrospective study. Results from a large tertiary center may not be generalizable.

Nonmelanoma skin cancers commonly occur in recipients of PT, and those patients who have a history of nonmelanoma skin cancer have a very high likelihood of further skin cancer development.