De Novo Malignancies After Liver Transplantation: A Single Institution Experience

Our objective was to analyze characteristics, risk factors, and incidence of de novo malignancies after liver transplant.

The hospital records of 557 patients who underwent liver transplant were analyzed from the point of de novo malignancy development. We evaluated the demographic features and survival of these patients retrospectively.

The research covered 429 patients, 9 (2%) of whom developed de novo malignancy. All of these patients were male (100%), and their mean (SD) age was 51.33 (4.69) years (range, 45-65 y). Indications for transplant included alcohol related in 4 cases, chronic hepatitis B in 2 cases, chronic hepatitis B and C in 1 case, chronic hepatitis B and D in 1 case, and chronic hepatitis C and alcohol-related cirrhosis in 1 case. The mean (SD) time from transplant to cancer diagnosis was 63.41 (37.10) months (range, 17-122 mo). The types of tumors were lung cancer, lymphoma, neuroendocrine tumor of lung, nasopharyngeal cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. Seven cases received chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy. Two cases received surgery and radiotherapy. One patient underwent surgical treatment. One patient died before treatment was started.

In recent years, improvements in surgical techniques and immunosuppressive therapies have helped prolong survival of patients who undergo liver transplant. However, this also has led to a rise in the incidence of long-term complications such as de novo malignancy. These patients are more likely to develop de novo malignancy than the general population, for which chronic immunosuppression is identified as a major risk factor. Early diagnosis and treatment of de novo malignancies can help obtain better prognosis and higher survival rates in these patients.