Pediatric Kidney Transplantation: Cancer and Cancer Risk

Children with end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) face a lifetime of complex medical care, alternating between maintenance chronic dialysis and kidney transplantation. Kidney transplantation has emerged as the optimal treatment of ESKD for children and provides important quality of life and survival advantages. Although transplantation is the preferred therapy, lifetime exposure to immunosuppression among children with ESKD is associated with increased morbidity, including an increased risk of cancer. Following pediatric kidney transplantation, cancer events occurring during childhood or young adulthood can be divided into two broad categories: post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders and non-lymphoproliferative solid tumors. This review provides an overview of cancer incidence, types, outcomes, and preventive strategies in this population.