RISKS OF SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA WITH KIDNEY TRANSPLANT RECIPIENTS

Sharing printed educational materials about the risk of squamous cell carcinoma with kidney transplant recipients appeared to be effective at increasing skin self-examination and encouraging follow-up with a dermatologist to determine risk of cancer, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the June issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "In the United States, an estimated 100,000 living kidney transplant recipients are at risk to develop cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma [malignant tumors occurring in the skin that can spread to other organs]," according to background information in the article. "Most kidney transplant recipients with a first squamous cell carcinoma develop multiple skin cancers within five years, and some develop more than 100 skin cancers within a year." ESCIENCENEWS