Acta Dermato-Venereologica 97-6 97-6CompleteContent | Page 24
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SHORT COMMUNICATION
Risk Factors for De Novo Squamous Cell Carcinoma Development in Renal Transplant Recipients
with a Previous Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Vivan C. HELLSTRÖM 1 , Ylva ENSTRÖM 2 , Gunilla ENBLAD 3 , Gunnar TUFVESON 1 , Henrik RENLUND 4 , Tomas LORANT 1 and
Filippa NYBERG 5
1
Department of Surgical Sciences, Section of Transplantation Surgery, 2 Department of Medical Sciences, Section of Dermatology and
Venereology, 3 Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Section of Experimental and Clinical Oncology, 4 Uppsala Clinical Research
Centre, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, and 5 Institution for Clinical Sciences, Unit for Dermatology, Karolinska Institutet at Danderyd
Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected]
Accepted Jan 12, 2017; Epub ahead of print Jan 17, 2017
Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the most
common post-transplant tumour in renal transplanted re-
cipients in Sweden. Five percent of the renal transplanted
population develop SCC within 10 years of transplanta-
tion. Five years after transplantation the incidence of a
first SCC is increased 52-fold, and the incidence of all
SCCs is increased 121-fold in renal transplant recipients
compared with the general population (1). Half of the
patients with a first SCC and three-quarters of those
with 2 or 3 SCCs are at risk of multiple subsequent SCC
and, finally, of metastatic SCC within 10 years after
transplantation. These patients are in need of intense
skin surveillance. However, the risk factors that indicate
the need for intensified skin surveillance have not been
completely identified (1–3).
Table I. Analysed risk factor
Age at 1 st transplantation a
Age at 1 st SCC a
Time 1 st transplantation to 1 st SCC a
Age at baseline SCC a
Time 1 st transplantation to baseline SCC a
Skin type (Fitzpatrick’s), n (%)
I–II
III–IV
Sun exposure, n (%)
Low to moderate
Hig h
Clinical assessment of skin, n (%)
Normal or aged skin
AK, solar lentigines, field cancerization
Histology of base SCC, n (%)
In situ
Invasive
Number previous SCC, n (%)
1
2
> 2
Azathioprine, n (%)
No
Yes previously
Mycophenolate mofetil, n (%)
No or stopped
Yes
mTOR inhibitor, n (%)
No or < 3 months
Yes > 15 months
Sex, n (%)
Female
Male
All
(n = 73) No Dn SCC
(n = 42)
51.9 (38–62) 53.1 (38–61)
60.8 (54–66) 61.8 (54–66)
9.4 (4–16) 9.8 (4–15)
65.2 (58–69) 64.5 (57–68)
11.6 (6–23) 10.3 (6–19)
40 (55)
33 (45) 24 (57)
18 (43)
36 (49)
37 (51) 21 (50)
21 (50)
21 (29)
52 (71) 15 (36)
27 (64)
37 (51)
36 (49) 21 (50)
21 (50)
25 (34)
14 (19)
34 (47) 21 (50)
9 (21)
12 (29)
47 (64)
26 (36) 29 (69)
13 (31)
43 (59)
30 (41)
MATERIALS AND METHODS
In this prospective clinical observational study at Uppsala Univer-
sity Hospital, Sweden, 73 kidney or simultaneous pancreas and
kidney transplanted patients were included. All patients had at least
one post-transplant SCC in situ or invasive SCC diagnosed from
September 2006 to December 2012 and they were followed for
2 years (4). The aim was to identify the risk factor or risk factors
that are the most significant in predicting de novo SCC.
This study was approved by the Regional Ethical Review Board
in Uppsala (Dnr 2007/032) and registered with ClinicalTrials.gov
(NCT02241564).
The recorded risk factors for de novo SCC, as well as a compari-
son between patients developing and not developing de novo SCC
are presented in Table I. Skin types were assessed according to
Fitzpatrick’s classification (5). Sun exposure was assessed based
on anamnestic information. Patients with low and medium sun
exposure were classified as Group 1 (low risk) and those with a
history of active sun bathing (before transplantation or continu-
ously) were classified as Group 2 (high risk). Group
1 had normal skin status according to age or minor
skin lesions such as aged skin, telangiectases, elas-
Dn SCC
tosis, and some solar lentigines. Group 2 had actinic
(n = 31)
p-value
keratosis, many solar lentigines or more advanced
50.8 (38–63) 0.97
lesions, such as numerous actinic keratoses and
60.7 (54–66) 0.96
field cancerization.
8.1 (4–16)
0.68
Immunosuppression. All patients except one had
65.4 (60–72) 0.36
calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-based maintenance im-
14.1 (7–24)
0.31
munosuppression, and all patients except 4 (5%) had
16 (52)
0.80
corticosteroids in combination with CNI at inclusion.
15 (48)
Nineteen patients in the study used everolimus as
maintenance immunosuppression for > 21 months.
15 (48)
1.00
Statistical analyses were performed using softwa-
16 (52)
re R version 3.1.1 (The R Foundation for Statistical
Computing, Vienna, Austria).
6 (19)
0.19
25 (81)
The sample size was small compared with the
number of potential explanatory variables and it was
16 (52)
1.00
unlikely a priori that statistical significance alone
15 (48)
would be able to identify all prognostic covariates.
Therefore, besides Cox regression analysis of all
4 (13)
<0.001
candidate variables, we removed covariates 1 at the
5 (16)
22 (71)
time to determine which could be excluded with the
smallest deterioration in predictive value.
18 (58)
13 (42) 0.46
27 (64)
15 (36) 16 (52)
15 (48) 0.34
54 (74)
19 (26 32 (76)
10 (24) 22 (71)
9 (29) 0.79
21 (29)
52 (71) 10 (24)
32 (76) 11 (36)
20 (64) 0.31
a
years, median (IQR) Dn: de novo; IQR: interquartile range; SCC: squamous cell cancer; AK:
actinic keratosis.
RESULTS
During follow-up 31 patients (42%) develo-
ped de novo SCC, of which 15 (48%) were
in situ SCC and 16 (52%) were invasive
SCC (Table I).
Patients with more than one previous cu-
taneous SCC had a 5-fold (1–21) higher risk
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license. www.medicaljournals.se/acta
Journal Compilation © 2017 Acta Dermato-Venereologica.
doi: 10.2340/00015555-2606
Acta Derm Venereol 2017; 97: 751–753