If confirmed by future studies, measuring immune cells could provide a valuable new approach to predicting the risk of skin cancer after kidney transplantation. "If a test can confirm high risk of skin cancer development, this may help clinicians to tailor immunosuppressive regimens for individual patients," says Carroll.
The study was limited to British transplant patients. Well-designed scientific studies will be needed to determine whether the immune system test will apply to other populations of patients around the world, with different immunosuppressive regimens and differing exposure to ultraviolet light.
The article, entitled "Immune Phenotype Predicts Risk for Posttransplantation Squamous Cell Carcinoma," will appear online at jasn.asnjournals/ on January 28, 2010, doi 10.1681/ASN.2009060669.
SOURCE American Society of Nephrology (ASN)