Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) is the predominant malignancy to develop in Chinese renal transplant recipients, according to researchers at the Capital University of Medical Sciences in Beijing.
Female gender, use of a Chinese herb containing aristolochic acid, and immunosuppression are associated with development of TCC, the investigators reported in the International Journal of Urology (2008;15:53-57).
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Xiao-Bei Li, MD, and colleagues studied a cohort of 1,429 renal transplant recipients, of whom 27 (1.89%) were diagnosed with TCC in their native urologic system after transplantation. These TCC cases accounted for 41.5% of the patients with post-transplant de novo malignancies among the 1,429 recipients. Of the 27 patients, 21 (77.8%) were female and 16 (59.3%) took an aristolochic acid-containing Chinese herb for at least two months before renal transplantation.
The authors concluded that risk-adapted screening, strict follow-up, standard surgical intervention, and dose reduction of immunosuppressants are important for the early diagnosis and treatment of TCC.
