I have a history of cancer, can I still get a transplant?
Patients on dialysis have an increased risk of cancer compared to the general population but there is no evidence to support more intensive screening of potential transplant recipients above that suggested for the general population. Cancer is responsible for 9–12% of deaths in renal transplant recipients. Post-transplant immunosuppression likely inhibits surveillance mechanisms that otherwise counteract the development of malignant cell growth. In fact, the risk of a developing new cancers exceeds the risk of recurrence of the original malignancy after transplantation. Kidney failure patients that have been successfully treated for their cancer are generally considered to be suitable candidates for transplantation. Tumor biology varies considerably between cancers and even within the same cancer, therefore a blanket recommendation for malignancy overall would not be valid. The current guidelines are based primarily on registry data from the Isra...