Most who survive transplants get skin cancer

A record number of people are surviving organ transplants in this country – but sadly, almost all of them are getting skin cancer. In fact, the risk of getting skin cancer is up to 250 times higher for a transplant survivor than it is for the rest of us. But a new discovery in the lab might bring those numbers down.

Over the last 30 years, Carl Stewart has survived not one, but two different kidney transplants. But today, his kidneys aren’t his only health concern. Like nearly 9 out of 10 other transplant patients**, Carl has also developed skin cancer.

“You know, it’s like a kick in the teeth when you find out there’s something else you’ve got to deal with. But at the same time, it’s like – what have I got to do to make it better,” Carl says.

What Carl has to do is to take every minute outside seriously. Even when the sun isn’t shining, UV rays are still a threat. The problem is the medicine he takes. It weakens Carl’s immune system so his body won’t reject his new kidney. But that also puts him at risk.

“With the medications we have now, patients are living a much longer life and they’re doing better. But this is a consequence of that good thing. We have to worry about skin cancer,” says Anne VanBuskirk, PhD at Ohio State University’s Medical Center.

For years, doctors didn’t think there was much they could do. But Vanbuskirk has made a discovery in the lab that might help. She found that certain cells in the immune system, called CD-4 cells, appear to play a much more important role in protecting the skin from tumors than first thought. Transplant patients have fewer CD-4 cells than most of us.

“If we know what the CD-4 cells are doing we can compensate for that and try to treat and prevent these cancers before they start,” says Vanbuskirk.

For example, scientists could create lotions that mimic CD-4 cells or activate them in the body. For patients like Carl who’ve already gotten a second lease on life with a transplant, that might help them live that life more fully.

Scientists say their next step is to conduct tests on humans to see if replacing those cells can cut down on the risk of getting skin cancer.

If you’d like more information, go to the Ohio State University Medical Center website http://medicalcenter.osu.edu and click on “news & media room.”

Ohio State University

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May 18, 2007