Skin Cancer Surveillance Program Improves Screening for Solid Organ Transplant Recipients

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 15, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Among solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients, a modified Skin and Ultraviolet Neoplasia Transplant Risk Assessment Calculator (SUNTRAC)-based surveillance program is associated with improved skin cancer screening rates and detection, according to a study published online Oct. 15 in JAMA Dermatology.David S. Lee, M.D., from Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Pleasanton, and colleagues examined skin cancer risk among SOT recipients and assessed the impact of the SUNTRAC-based surveillance program on screening rates in a retrospective cohort study involving participants identified from the transplant registry of Kaiser Permanente (KP) Northern California. The study period was divided into preimplementation of the modified SUNTRAC (KP-SUNTRAC) program (2016 to 2021) and postimplementation (2022 to 2024).The analysis included 2,083 SOT recipients matched with 26,199 nonrecipients. The researchers found that the SOT recipients had a significantly increased risk for developing skin cancer posttransplant compared with nonrecipients (hazard ratio, 7.78). The risk for first detected skin cancer was significantly higher in the postimplementation group after implementation of the modified SUNTRAC program (hazard ratio, 2.57). Screening rates improved significantly among the high- and very high-risk groups during the postimplementation period versus the preimplemenation period (hazard ratios, 1.98 and 2.17, respectively). There was no increase in health care utilization after KP-SUNTRAC implementation."SUNTRAC has been helpful in identifying the highest-risk SOT recipients, those who benefit from early screening," writes Anokhi Jambusaria-Pahlajani, M.D., from the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School and the author of an accompanying editorial. "Although the instrument was originally developed to be used by transplant teams to send timely referrals, this study demonstrates that dermatologists and primary care teams may also use SUNTRAC to triage SOT recipients and encourage timely skin cancer screening visits."Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)Editorial (subscription or payment may be required).Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Skin Cancer Surveillance Program Improves Screening for Solid Organ Transplant Recipients

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