Previous research had shown that organ transplant recipients receiving immunosuppressive therapy are three to four times more likely to develop tumors than the general population and have an even greater risk of developing certain rare cancers.
Extensive Examination of Registry Validates CellCept Treatment
The study, Mycophenolate Mofetil and the Risk of Developing Malignancy Following Orthotopic Heart Transplantation (OHT), examined competing risk factors to determine which are associated with malignancy following OHT, and was based on 3,895 patients in the ISHLT Transplant Registry. The study examined survival without malignancy in patients taking standard immunosuppressive regimens (defined as cyclosporine or tacrolimus and azathioprine or CellCept), who underwent OHT between January 1, 1995, and December 31, 1997.
Of these patients, 703 (18%) developed malignancy during the follow-up period through June 30, 2002. The breakdown of malignancy was as follows: skin (47%), post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (10%),
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Contact: Julip Cantre
Julio.Cantre@ketchum.com
917-204-0599
Ketchum
23-Apr-2004