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Update in Melanoma in Organ Transplant Patients

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Advances in Transplant Dermatology

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Abstract

There are three major categories of transplant melanoma: pretransplant, posttransplant, and donor-derived melanoma. Dermatologists are involved in screening transplant candidates to help identify a history of pretransplant melanoma or other high-risk factors for posttransplant melanoma. For those with a history of pretransplant melanoma, AJCC melanoma staging should help guide wait times prior to transplantation to ensure ethical allocation of a scarce resource. The incidence of posttransplant malignant melanoma is estimated to be three to five times higher than the general public and is associated with a worse prognosis. While donor-derived melanoma is rare in transplant patients, it has been reported as the most commonly transmitted tumor-causing distant metastasis and is associated with a poor overall survival.

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Abbreviations

AJCC:

American Joint Committee on Cancer

AKs:

Actinic keratosis

FISH:

Fluorescent in situ hybridization

HLA:

Human leukocyte antigen

IHC:

Immunohistochemistry

ITSC:

International Transplant Skin Cancer Collaborative

NCCN:

National Comprehensive Cancer Network

NIH:

National Institutes of Health

NMSC:

Nonmelanoma skin cancer

OPTN:

Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network

OTRs:

Organ transplant recipients

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

SCOPE:

Skin Care in Organ Transplant Patients, Europe

SRTR:

Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients

USA:

United States of America

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery, Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Ashley Wysong MD, MS & Seaver L. Soon MD

Authors
  1. Ashley Wysong MD, MS
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  2. Seaver L. Soon MD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Seaver L. Soon MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Transplant Dermatology, Piedmont Transplant Institute, Dermatology Consultants, PC, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Fiona Zwald

  2. Department of Dermatology, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA

    Marc D. Brown

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© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Wysong, A., Soon, S.L. (2015). Update in Melanoma in Organ Transplant Patients. In: Zwald, F., Brown, M. (eds) Advances in Transplant Dermatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12445-2_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-12445-2_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-12444-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-12445-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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