Alcohol Abuse and De Novo Tumors in Liver Transplantation

Abstract

Introduction Organ transplant recipients show an increased incidence of cancer ranging from 4% to 16% owing to several causes: immunosuppression, viral infection, individual predisposition, and so on. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed the records of 43/683 (6.3%) recipients of 734 liver transplants performed from November 1991 to November 2008 who experienced a de novo neoplasm. Conclusion Alcohol abuse significantly increased the rate of all de novo neoplasms and particularly pharyngogastroesophageal cancers among population of liver transplant recipients. Minimization of immunosuppressive therapy is necessary to reduce the risk of a de novo neoplasm. Strict posttransplant follow-up is required to identify early gastroenteric tumors.