Women’s health issues in solid organ transplantation: Breast and gynecologic cancers in the post-transplant population

Abstract

The success of solid organ transplant has steadily improved which has led to a unique set of post-transplant issues. The rates of de novo cancer in the solid organ transplant recipient population are higher than those in the general population. There is growing evidence that breast and gynecologic cancers may have a higher mortality rate in post-transplant patients. Cervical and vulvovaginal cancers specifically have a significantly higher mortality in this population. Despite this increased mortality risk, there is currently no consistent standard in screening and identifying these cancers in post-transplant patients. Breast, ovarian and endometrial cancers do not appear to have significantly increased incidence. However, the data on these cancers remains limited. Further studies are needed to determine if more aggressive screening strategies would be of benefit for these cancers. Here we review the cancer incidence, mortality risk and current screening methods associated with breast and gynecologic cancers in the post-solid organ transplant population.

Keywords: Cancer screening; Solid organ transplant; Female-specific cancer

Core Tip: Survival after solid organ transplant is continually improving. Because of this, patients are living longer and are requiring long-term monitoring for malignancies. There is growing evidence that breast and gynecologic cancers (specifically cervical and vulvovaginal cancers) may have a higher mortality rate in post-transplant patients. Despite this increased mortality risk, there is currently no consistent standard among transplant societies for screening and identifying these cancers in post-transplant patients. Ultimately, data are not robust and further studies are needed to determine if more aggressive screening strategies would be of benefit for these cancers.