Liver transplant patients highly vulnerable to cancer

New York, United States, October 12: A new Finnish study has found that individuals, especially children, are at significantly increased risk of developing cancerdefine following liver transplantation.

The research, carried out by a team led by Helena Isoniemi of Finland, suggests that people who undergo a liver transplant are nearly three times more likely to develop cancerdefine than the general population.

In the study, published in the October issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal by John Wiley & Sons, Isoniemi and colleagues investigated the cancer risk pattern in 540 Finnish liver transplant recipients from Helsinki University Central Hospital. The patients had received liver transplants at Aberg's center between 1982 and 2005.

During follow-up, researchers found that out of the 540 liver transplant recipients, a total of 39 cancers developed in 36 patients, which translates into a 2.59-fold increased risk of the overall standardized incidence ratio (SIR) relative to that seen in the general population.

In the research, one out of every six liver transplant patients developed some form of cancer from 4 months to 14 years after the transplant operation.

"Based on our data, one out of six liver transplant patients is estimated to develop some form of cancer by 20 years after transplantation," according to the authors. "This study points out the importance of cancer surveillance after liver transplantation."

The researchers found in their research that non-Hodgkin lymphoma, non-melanoma skin cancer and basal cell carcinoma had significantly elevated SIRs.

“The most common cancer types in our cohort were lymphoma and skin cancer,” the authors say. ”Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which included four cases of post-transplant lymphoproliverative disorder, occurred more frequently in males, in patients transplanted at a younger age and soon after transplantation.”

Further analysis showed that children younger than 17 years were more prone to developing cancer following the transplantation than older patients.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma was more frequent in younger transplant patients soon after transplantation. By contrast, non-melanoma skin cancer was more frequently reported in older patients and those who received antibody induction therapy. There was a lower cancer risk among patients with a history of acute rejections.

Although post-transplant cancers are a recognized problem, further studies are required to obtain reliable data on cancer risk patterns in order to reach consensus on optimal monitoring of immune-suppressing strategies, cancer surveillance programs, and strategies to minimize cancer risk, the authors conclude.

American Liver Foundation (ALF) describes liver transplant as a surgery to replace a diseased liver with a healthy liver. When a patient receives a liver transplant, his or her entire liver is removed. It is then replaced by either a complete new liver or a portion of a healthy liver.

According to ALF, liver transplantation is needed for patients who are likely to die because of liver failure. Many diseases can cause liver failure. The most common is cirrhosis, which is the scarring and death of liver cells. Cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C is the most common reason for liver transplants.