Cancer After Organ Transplant: Understanding the Role of the Immune System

Cancer After Organ Transplant: Understanding the Role of the Immune System

10/19/2016 02:43 PM EDT

In 2015, there were over 30,000 organ transplants performed in the U.S., according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (https://www.unos.org/about/annual-report/). These patients are at an increased risk for cancer, due in part to the immune-suppressing medications they take to keep their bodies from rejecting the transplanted organ. Dr. Eric Engels, senior investigator in the Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, discusses his research on this immunosuppressed population. For NIH Radio (audio) summarizing 2011 JAMA paper on cancer risk for organ tranplant recepients: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-study-finds-broad-spectrum-cancer-risk-organ-transplant-recipients-us.