Malignant Melanoma Following Heart Transplantation: A Cautionary Tale

Abstract

French

A Nandi, AR Groves. Malignant melanoma following heart transplantation: A cautionary tale. Can J Plast Surg 1994;2(4): 173-174. The incidence of neoplasia in patients on immunosuppression after organ transplantation is 100 times greater than that of the general population. Skin tumours and malignant lymphomas are most common. Such tumours are more aggressive than their counterparts in the general population. A higher incidence may be expected in patients receiving heart transplants since they receive the most vigorous immunosuppressive regimes. A case of malignant melanoma developing five years after cardiac transplantation is reported. The need for increased vigilance towards detection of skin cancers in this risk group is highlighted.

Keywords

Heart transplantation Immunosuppression Malignant melanoma

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