If you’ve had an organ transplant, you may face a higher risk of certain types of cancer. That’s why expert cancer care for those who’ve had a transplant is an important part of your health care.
What Are Oncology Services for Transplant Patients?
Some cancers may develop after a liver transplant or other transplant. These can include gastrointestinal cancer or liver cancer.
UPMC provides comprehensive care to people who’ve developed cancer after receiving a solid organ transplant. Our multidisciplinary team includes cancer experts from UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and transplant specialists from the UPMC Center for Liver Care.
Understanding cancer care after a transplant
Oncology is cancer care. Oncologists help prevent, diagnose, and treat cancer. They also care for you after treatment ends and you’re living with cancer.
Oncologists may specialize in certain types of cancer or specific cancer treatments.
Oncologists can treat you whenever cancer occurs after a transplant. You may have had organ transplant surgery years ago. Or, you may have recently received an organ transplant.
Together, cancer and transplant specialists form a team that provides multidisciplinary care.
Treatment specialties may include:
- Cancer surgery.
- Radiation therapy.
- Systemic therapy, such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapy.
Other health professionals may join your care team. These team members can include physical therapists and dietitians. They’ll focus on your nutritional needs after an organ transplant.
What Are the Benefits of Transplant Oncology?
The benefits of transplant oncology include personalized care from experts. They can treat cancers early in people with transplanted organs.
These experts treat you using the latest innovations and they follow guidelines to improve health outcomes.
Specialists who treat cancer after organ transplant provide expert insights. Each may specialize in treating certain cancers. These cancers can occur after an organ transplant and may include:
What Services Does Transplant Oncology Provide?
Your transplant oncology team will meet with you to talk about your life and treatment goals. They review your medical records and any test results. They’ll get these from the doctors who referred you for care.
An oncologist and transplant specialist will examine you. They may order specific tests to learn more about the cancer. They work together to get the information they need.
Your care team will talk with you about your health and your treatment options.
How do providers plan to treat cancer after an organ transplant?
Your treatment plan will depend on your specific health needs. Your care team considers the type of organ transplant you’ve had. They also consider your:
- Cancer type.
- Current health condition.
- Health history.
- History of cancer treatments.
Specialists talk with you about your goals. You and your care team decide the best treatments for you.
What Is the Risk of Cancer After Organ Transplant?
Cancer may occur after an organ transplant for different reasons. Anti-rejection drugs (immunosuppressants) can increase your cancer risk. These drugs help keep your body from rejecting the new organ.
Anti-rejection drugs make finding and fighting cancer cells more difficult for your body. This means new cancers may grow with greater ease. If you had liver cancer before a liver transplant, you may experience a recurrence.
Liver transplant also increases your risk of developing certain gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. Immunosuppressants may affect your body’s ability to fight off some infections. These infections may increase your risk of GI cancer.
GI cancers include:
- Colorectal cancer
- Esophageal cancer
- Stomach cancer
Some people who’ve had a liver transplant may develop blood cancers or skin cancers.
Our oncologists understand these unique risks. They work with transplantation specialists to check you for signs of cancer. This way, you can get treatment right away.
How Does Cancer Treatment Integrate With Transplantation?
Specialists must always consider the health of your new organ after a transplant. Our doctors can help improve outcomes by working to keep your organs healthy during cancer treatment.
Our team may recommend specific treatments to meet your health needs. You may have:
Cancer surgery
During cancer surgery, expert surgeons remove cancerous tissue. Your care team will determine if cancer surgery is appropriate for you.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is a treatment that uses powerful medications to fight cancer cells. These medications move throughout your bloodstream. Your provider will tell you whether chemotherapy treatment is right for you.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy for transplant patients can help protect your organs while treating cancer. Your transplant oncologist may recommend treatment with medications that help you fight cancer. These are immunotherapies.
Specialists may treat you with drugs called immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is a treatment that uses beams of energy to destroy cancer cells. Your doctor may recommend radiation therapy if appropriate. But radiation therapy isn’t right for everyone who gets cancer after an organ transplant.
Targeted therapy
Targeted therapies are drugs that fight specific types of cancer cells. Specialists may recommend these drugs for cancers that develop after transplants.
What Are the Challenges of Cancer After Organ Transplant?
Cancers that recur after organ transplant are often challenging to treat. So are new cancers that develop.
Treatments that help destroy cancer cells can affect transplanted organs. You need care from experts who understand these challenges. They can work together to treat cancer after an organ transplant.
A multidisciplinary approach in cancer care can help. Each specialist on our team can design your personalized care plan. From treatment to survivorship, these experts are with you every step of the way.
Talk to your transplant specialist about your cancer risk after organ transplant. You can also talk to your primary care provider about this.
They can help you learn about potential signs of cancer. They can also tell you the steps to take to protect your organs and keep your body as healthy as possible.
To learn more about cancer care for transplant recipients at UPMC or to make an appointment, call 412-623-4615.
Sources
American Cancer Society. Targeted Therapy. Accessed May 2025. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/treatment-types/targeted-therapy.html/ Cancer.org
American Cancer Society. What Is Oncology? Accessed May 2025. https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/finding-care/what-is-oncology.html/ Cancer.org
International Journal of Organ Transplantation Medicine. De-novo Gastrointestinal Tract Cancer after Liver Transplantation: A Demographic Report. Accessed May 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7430062/ NIH.gov
Korean Journal of Transplantation. Immune checkpoint inhibitors for solid organ transplant recipients: clinical updates. Accessed May 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9296977/ NIH.gov
Oncoimmunology. Cancer Risks in Solid Organ Transplant Recipients: Results from a Comprehensive Analysis of 72 Cohort Studies. Accessed May 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7714465/ NIH.gov
World Journal of Gastroenterology. De novo malignancies after liver transplantation: The effect of immunosuppression — personal data and review of literature. Accessed May 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6761240/ NIH.gov