Post-transplant Cancer

Prevention and early detection

Early detection of cancer can be helped by monthly breast, testicular and skin self examination and routine medical check-ups. PAP smears, breast exams, testicular exams, and skin cancer screening should be done by your physician every year. Your primary care doctor may perform these tests, but duplicate reports should be sent to your transplant team.

Other general measures should also be taken. These include:

• Reduce sun exposure
• Stop smoking
• Follow a balanced diet plan and get enough exercise

Reference and Publication Information

The United Network for Organ Sharing is committed to providing accurate and reliable information for transplant patients. To learn more about our content authorship and review process, please read about our Editorial Board.

The content on this page was originally created on May 5, 2006 by the United Network for Organ Sharing and last modified on June 30, 2006. The following sources were used as references:

Kauffman, H. Myron, Cherikh, Wida S., McBride, Maureen A., Cheng, Yulin, Hanto, Douglas W. Post-Transplant De Novo Malignancies in Renal Transplant Recipients: The Past and Present. Transplantation International 2006.

Transplantation 70:1747-51, 2000. First Report of the United Network for Organ Sharing Transplant Tumor Registry: Donors with a History of Cancer.

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