Incidence, management and treatment outcomes of renal malignancy in a post-transplant recipient at a tertiary care centre: A 16-year experience

Introduction and Objective: Although the incidence of malignancy in renal transplant recipients is on the rise owing to boom in the post-transplant immunosuppressive therapy, there is paucity of literature regarding their reporting and management. In this study, we report the incidence of de novo renal malignancies, post-renal transplantation at our centre over a 16-year period and discuss their management. Methods: All patients who underwent renal transplantation at our department between March 2004 and February 2020 were included and retrospectively reviewed. We analysed the incidence of renal malignancy both in the native kidney and the graft, histological subtype, time to and type of treatment. Results: A total of 376 patients underwent renal transplantation. Mean age of recipients was 48.2 and 52.15 years among those who developed cancer. 13 (2.93%) of 376 recipients developed urogenital malignancy, of whom 8 had renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in their native kidneys and 1 in the allograft. Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of renal pelvis was noted in three patients with one concomitant TCC of bladder. No treatment-related graft losses occurred in the native kidney malignancy. Patients with RCC underwent nephrectomy while TCC of renal pelvis underwent nephroureterectomy with bladder cuff excision. Transurethral resection was done for bladder tumour. All patients were followed up as per standard protocol. Conclusion: A rise in urological post-transplant malignancies mandates regular surveillance after renal transplantation to ensure early detection of de novo malignancies and early initiation of treatment. Goal should be to minimise adverse graft outcomes with no compromise on oncological outcomes.