Neoral Blog

Organ-Rejection Drug Linked to Higher Cancer Risk After Liver Transplant

Posted 28 Jun 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, June 28 – Cyclosporine, a drug commonly used to prevent organ rejection following a transplant, has been linked to a significantly increased risk of developing cancer after liver transplant, new Dutch research reveals. The study was done in part to examine what role drugs that suppress the immune system might play in the development of cancer in liver transplant patients, whose long-term survival rates have improved little over the past three decades. Cancer is one of the leading causes of late death, and appears to be directly related to the intensity and cumulative doses of immunosuppressive drugs, according to researchers. The Dutch study compared cyclosporine and tacrolimus – the cornerstone of immunosuppressive drug therapy – in the occurrence of de novo (new) malignancies after transplantation. To do so, researchers analyzed the records of 385 liver transplant patients ... Read more

Related support groups: Cyclosporine, Neoral, Gengraf, Sandimmune