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The use of cancer immunotherapy in kidney transplant recipients: how often and at what risk?
Safe People
University of Bristol, North Bristol NHS Trust
Safe Projects
ILD77
Kidney transplant recipients are more likely to be diagnosed with and die from cancer. Cancer immunotherapy, a new type of medication, has improved cancer treatment. This medication stops the immune system from switching off. In transplant recipients an active immune system is unwanted because it is more likely to find and attack the transplanted kidney. For this reason, people with a transplant have not been included in cancer immunotherapy trials. When groups of people are excluded from trials, we do not know how well they respond to the treatment or what the side effects are. Despite not being included in trials, some transplant recipients, after talking with their doctors, are treated with cancer immunotherapy. Between 20% and 50% end up losing their transplant as a result. In this study, we will compare what happens to a group of transplant recipients with cancer when they are treated with either chemotherapy or immunotherapy/chemotherapy combined. The use of cancer immunotherapy is becoming more common. To ensure transplant recipients are not excluded from this treatment we need to understand: • how many transplant recipients may need this medication, • how many recipients treated with this medication might lose their transplant, • why one person loses their transplant with this medication, but the other does not. If we know this, it is easier for healthcare professionals and transplant recipients to decide if they should use this medication.