title: Head and neck cancer in transplant recipients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The development of malignancy in organ transplant patients is a well-known complication of long-term immunosuppressive therapy. We sought to characterize our institution's 20-year experience with head and neck cancer after solid organ transplantation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective review.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients who underwent a solid organ transplant with subsequent development of a head and neck malignancy, including cutaneous and noncutaneous (upper aerodigestive tract and salivary gland) cancers, from January 1990 through December 2011 were identified. Patients were stratified according to cancer type, location, stage, and survival and compared to a nontransplant cohort in our institution's tumor registry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 95 patients identified, 17 had noncutaneous and 78 had cutaneous head and neck malignancies post-transplant. Among the noncutaneous group, no statistically significant differences occurred in age, gender, stage, or 5-year survival status when compared to the nontransplant tumor registry cohort. However, significantly fewer transplant patients were alive at 1 year. Among the cutaneous group, >50% had multiple malignancies. The total incidence of head and neck cancer following organ transplantation was 2.6%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the development of head and neck cancer is a rare side effect of immunosuppression, it still warrants attention. These patients have been found to be less likely to survive >1 year when compared to their nontransplant counterparts. Patients who develop head and neck malignancies following organ transplantation require aggressive screening, treatment, and follow-up, as this diagnosis may portend a poor prognosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan, USA. rdeeb1@hfhs.org
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Deeb
authors.forename: Saurabh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: Meredith
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mahan
authors.forename: Samer
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al-Khudari
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Schweitzer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007165:Immunosuppression Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016377:Organ Transplantation; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology