WEDNESDAY, July 19, 2023 -- Organ transplant recipients (OTRs) with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) have increased rates of second cSCC, metastasis, and death from cSCC, according to a study published online July 19 in JAMA Dermatology.

Petter Gjersvik, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Oslo in Norway, and colleagues examined the rates of second cSCC, metastasis, and death from cSCC in patients with and without organ transplant-associated immunosuppressive treatment in a population-based nationwide cohort study involving 47,992 individuals diagnosed with cSCC at age 18 years or older. Data were included for 1,208 OTRs and 46,784 non-OTRs.

The researchers found that the rate of a second cSCC was 30.9 and 250.6 per 1,000 person-years in non-OTRs and OTRs, respectively, with a 4.3-fold increased rate for OTRs in the adjusted analysis. Per 1,000 person-years, the metastasis rate was 2.8 and 4.8 in non-OTRs and OTRs, respectively, with a 1.5-fold increased rate for OTRs in the adjusted analysis. There were 30,451 deaths reported; 98.2 percent were from causes other than cSCC. Death from cSCC was seen in 1.1 and 3.3 percent of non-OTRs and OTRs, respectively. The rate of death from cSCC was 1.7 and 5.4 per 1,000 person-years in non-OTRs and OTRs, respectively, with a 5.5-fold increased rate among OTRs in the adjusted analysis.

"These findings have implications for the clinical follow-up of individual patients and for skin cancer care policies," the authors write.