De novo malignancy after lung transplantation in Japan

Lung transplant recipients have an increased de novo cancer risk due to long-term immunosuppression and several oncogenic viral infections. In Japan, to date, there have been no national surveys of the incidence of de novo malignancy after lung transplantation.

This national survey was conducted by the Japanese Society for Transplantation. The questionnaire was distributed to lung transplant institutions, asking about several clinical factors related to de novo malignancy patients transplanted from 2001 to 2010.

179 cases of lung transplantation were performed by seven institutions in Japan between 2001 and 2010. De novo malignancies occurred in 18 patients (10.1 %). The most common malignancy was a lymphoproliferative malignancy (12 cases, including 1 double de novo cancer after tongue cancer), followed by cervical cancer (4 cases), breast cancer (2 cases), and tongue cancer (1 case). The mean time of occurrence after transplantation was 37.8 (range 4-148) months. Reduction and/or withdrawal of immunosuppression for the treatment of malignancy was seen in 14 cases. Death due to cancer occurred in 6 cases. The overall 5-year survival of 18 patients was 58.9 %. The 5-year survival of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder was not significantly different from that of other malignancies (47.6 and 62.5 %, respectively; p = 0.33).

This is the first national survey of the incidence of de novo malignancy after lung transplantation in Japan. The incidence was 10.1 % and post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder was the most common malignancy.