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# Organ transplants linked to increased cancer risk
- URL: https://www.foodconsumer.org/organ_transplants_cancer_1107110825/
- Published: 2011-11-07T21:23:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-22T16:14:59.000Z
- Description: A JAMA study of 175,732 solid organ transplant recipients found they were twice as likely as the general population to be diagnosed with cancer, across 32 malignancies. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma led; researchers point to immunosuppressive drugs and oncogenic viral infections.
- Author: Food Consumer
- Tags: Drug, Health News, Cancer, Transplants, #vivvo-import

By David liu, Ph.D.

MOnday Nov 07, 2011 (foodconsumer.org) -- The last resort for cancer patients is organ transplantation. But organ transplants per se may boost the risk for cancer patients to acquire new cancers.

A new study in the Nov 2, 2011 issue of JAMA found organ transplantation is associated with increased risk for 32 types of malignancies or cancers.

Those who received organ transplants were twice as likely as the general population to be diagnosed with cancer, the study found.

The study was based on data on 175,732 people who received solid organ transplants, who accounted for nearly 40 percent of all the transplant recipients from 1987 through 2008\. The most commonly transplanted organs were kidney (58.4%), liver (21.6%), heart (10%) and lung (4%).

The study was conducted by Eric A. Engels, M.D., M.P.H., of the National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Md., and colleagues.

The researchers also found the most common cancers associated with organ transplants were non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, followed by lung cancer, liver cancer and kidney cancer.

An increased risk for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma was found in all types of organ transplants. Lung cancer risk was found high not only lung recipients, but also recipients of kidney, liver and heart transplants. Similarly, kidney cancer risk was found high in not only kidney recipients, but also liver and heart recipients.

The researchers believe that the increased risk for cancers has something to do with immunosuppression drugs and oncogenic viral infections due to an individual's compromised immunity. 

It has been reported that the person who lived more than 15 years after a heart transplant died eventually from cancer, but not heart problems.