Skin lesions in renal transplant patients after 10-23 years of immunosuppressive therapy

Ninety-eight patients with 10-23 years of uninterrupted immunosuppressive therapy due to renal transplants were investigated for signs of skin disease. Thirty-seven per cent had or had had premalignant or malignant skin lesions. This is significantly different from a control population (p less than 0.0001). There was also a correlation between the length of the immunosuppressive therapy and the risk of acquiring squamous cell skin cancers (p less than 0.05). Fifty-five per cent had common viral warts at the time of the present examination. The duration of immunosuppressive therapy also correlated with the presence of warts (p less than 0.01). Seven patients had mycosis and four patients had seborrheic eczema. In one-third of the patients the skin appeared normal.