Epidemiological profile of nonmelanoma skin cancer in renal transplant recipients: Experience of a referral center

Background: nonmelanoma skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in humans and also the malignant disease that is increasingly common among kidney transplant recipients. objective: to determine the epidemiological characteristics of renal transplant recipients with nonmelanoma skin cancer seen at a referral transplantation center. methods: cross-sectional descriptive study with renal transplant recipients presenting nonmelanoma skin cancer,treated at a transplantation referral center between 08/01/2004 and 08/31/2009. analyzed variables were: gender,age,skin phototype,occupational and recreational sun exposure,use of photoprotection,personal and family history of non-melanoma skin cancer,clinical type and location,time between transplantation and the appearance of the first nonmelanoma skin cancer,occurrence of viral warts,timing of transplantation,type of donor,cause of kidney failure,previous transplants,comorbidities,pre-transplant dialysis,type and duration of dialysis. results: 64 subjects were included. males - 71.9%; low skin phototypes (up to fitzpatrick iii) - 89%; mean age -57.0 years - and mean age at transplant - 47.3 years; sun exposure - 67.2% occupational - and 64.1% recreational; photoprotection - 78.2% (although only 34.4% in a regular manner); squamous cell carcinoma - 67.2%; squamous cell carcinoma/basal cell carcinoma ratio - 2:1; personal history of nonmelanoma skin cancer - 25% - and family history - 10.9%; location at photoexposed area - 98.4%; average latency time between transplantation and first non-melanoma skin cancer appearance - 78.3 months; viral warts (hpv) after transplant - 53.1%; average timing of transplantation - 115.5 months; living donor - 64.1%; triple regimen (antirejection) - 73.2%; comorbidities - 92.2%; pre-transplant dialysis - 98.4%; hemodialysis - 71.7%; average duration of dialysis - 39.1 months; previous transplants - 3.1%; hypertension as cause of renal failure - 46.9%. conclusion: this study allowed the epidemiological characterization of a population of kidney transplant recipients with nonmelanoma skin cancer. © 2014 by anais brasileiros de dermatologia.