Many Transplant Patients Oblivious to Skin Cancer Risks
Thanks to modern medicine, more than 220,000 organ transplant recipients are living in the United States today. Unfortunately, many of those transplant patients will soon be facing another challenge — skin cancer.
Skin cancer rates in the organ transplant population have continued to grow over recent years, reaching rates up to 200 times greater than in other populations of the same age. A new study suggests one reason for the alarming increase is transplant patients aren’t aware they’re at risk.
A recent Saint Louis University School of Medicine study revealed many organ transplant patients leave the hospital without knowing they’re at increased risk for skin cancer and, even worse, many aren’t finding out until it’s too late.
Patients taking immunosuppressive drugs to prevent organ rejection after a heart, kidney, liver, lung or other solid organ transplant are highly susceptible to sun damage. Because immunosuppressive medications allow skin cancers to spread quicker, proper sun protection and regular skin cancer screenings by a dermatologist are recommended.
However, statistics gathered from Saint Louis’ two-page survey of 298 organ transplant patients indicated 73 percent were not informed about their skin cancer risk, only 28 percent regularly wore sunscreen, and just 14 percent had received the recommended annual skin exam.
And this lack of proper precautions is having a deadly effect. In separate studies, as many as 82 percent of kidney transplant patients developed skin cancer within 20 years and over one-quarter of deaths which occurred four years after heart transplant surgery were caused by the disease. As one researcher pointed out, these findings highlight the need for a comprehensive education program for transplant patients. As she explained,
“Because the time around an organ transplantation is consumed with the more pressing issues of rejection and infection patients cannot be expected to recall information regarding the risks of sun exposure. Clearly, another method of informing patients of this risk is needed, preferably one involving dermatologists, who can assist the transplant team with strategies to educate and treat this high-risk patient population.”
Summer R. Youker, MD, FAAD
Assistant Professor, Department of Dermatology
Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Results of the research were presented at the 66th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology, held February 1-5, 2008, in San Antonio, Texas.
Source: Medical News Today
Related Links: WHOtv.com; American Academy of Dermatology; ustransplant.org; AARP; Medline Plus
Related Podcast: Dying to Live – The Extraordinary Story of a Heart Transplant Patient from MentalHelp.net
Technorati Tags: St Louis, MO; melanoma; basal cell carcinoma; squamous cell carcinoma; oncology; Prednisone; Cyclosporine; Tacrolimus; Mycophenolate; Mofetil; Azathioprine; Rapamycin; sirolimus
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