Malignant neoplasms following cardiac transplantation.

Between Jan 6, 1968, and April 11, 1977, 124 patients underwent cardiac transplantation at Stanford University Medical Center, with a mean and median period of follow-up of 18.3 and 9.7 months, respectively. Malignant neoplasms developed in seven patients--three lymphoproliferative neoplasms, two skin cancers, one acute leukemia, and one colon carcinoma. Visceral tumors were often fatal and caused 11% of deaths after three months following transplantation. The incidence and spectrum of malignant neoplasms in this population are similar to those observed in recipients of renal homografts.