Kidney transplantation is associated with a marked increase in cancer risk at a wide variety of sites. Because SIRs for most types of cancer were not increased before transplantation, immune suppression may be responsible for the increased risk. These data suggest a broader than previously appreciated role of the interaction between the immune system and common viral infections in the etiology of cancer.

Despite improvement in long-term survival, mortality rates among children requiring renal-replacement therapy remain substantially higher than those among children without end-stage renal disease. Increasing the proportion of children treated with renal transplantation rather than with dialysis can improve survival further.

Abstract. The native arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is the preferred vascular access because of its longevity and its lower rates of infection and intervention. Recent studies suggest that

Mortality differences between peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD) are widely debated. In this study, mortality was compared between patients treated with PD and HD (including home HD) using data from 27,015 patients in the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry, 25,287 of whom were still receiving PD or HD 90 d after entry into the registry. Overall mortality rates were significantly lower during the 90-to 365-d period among those being treated with PD at day 90 (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.81 to 0.99]; P Ͻ 0.001). This effect, however, varied in direction and size with the presence of comorbidities: Younger patients without comorbidities had a mortality advantage with PD treatment, but other groups did not. After 12 mo, the use of PD at day 90 was associated with significantly increased mortality (adjusted HR 1.33; 95% CI 1.24 to 1.42; P Ͻ 0.001). In a supplementary as-treated analysis, PD treatment was associated with lower mortality during the first 90 d (adjusted HR 0.67; 95% CI 0.56 to 0.81; P Ͻ 0.001). These data suggest that the effect of dialysis modality on survival for an individual depends on time, age, and presence of comorbidities. Treatment with PD may be advantageous initially but may be associated with higher mortality after 12 mo.

Word count (abstract): words Word count (body -excludes figures, tables and references):3,492 words Short title:Core outcomes in hemodialysis 4 ABSTRACT Background: Survival and quality of life for patients on hemodialysis remain poor despite

Fungal peritonitis is a serious complication of peritoneal dialysis but previous reports on this have been limited to small, single-center studies. Using all Australian peritoneal dialysis patients, we measured predictors, treatments, and outcomes of this condition by logistic regression and multilevel, multivariate Poisson regression. This encompassed 66 centers over a 4-year period that included 162 episodes of fungal peritonitis (4.5% of all peritonitis episodes) that occurred in 158 individuals. Candida albicans (25%) and other Candida species (44%) were the most common fungi isolated. Fungal peritonitis was independently predicted by indigenous race and prior treatment of bacterial peritonitis. Peritonitis episodes occurring after 7 and 60 days of treatment for previous bacterial peritonitis decreases in the probability of fungal peritonitis 23 and 6%, respectively. Compared with other organisms, fungal peritonitis was associated with significantly higher rates of hospitalization, catheter removal, transfer to permanent hemodialysis, and death. The risks of repeat fungal peritonitis and death were lowest with catheter removal combined with antifungal therapy when compared to either intervention alone. Our study shows that fungal peritonitis is a serious complication of peritoneal dialysis and should be strongly suspected in the context of recent antibiotic treatment for bacterial peritonitis.

We analyzed data from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry for 1 October 2003 to 31 December 2008 with the aim of describing the nature of peritonitis, therapies, and outcomes in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) in Australia. At least 1 episode of PD was observed in 6639 patients. The overall peritonitis rate was 0.60 episodes per patient-year (95% confidence interval: 0.59 to 0.62 episodes), with 6229 peritonitis episodes occurring in 3136 patients. Of those episodes, 13% were culture-negative, and 11% were polymicrobial. Gram-positive organisms were isolated in 53.4% of single-organism peritonitis episodes, and gram-negative organisms, in 23.6%. Mycobacterial and fungal peritonitis episodes were rare. Initial antibiotic therapy for most peritonitis episodes used 2 agents (most commonly vancomycin and an aminoglycoside); in 77.2% of episodes, therapy was subsequently changed to a single agent. Tenckhoff catheter removal was required in 20.4% of cases at a median of 6 days, and catheter removal was more common in fungal, mycobacterial, and anaerobic infections, with a median time to removal of 4 - 5 days. Peritonitis was the cause of death in 2.6% of patients. Transfer to hemodialysis and hospitalization were frequent outcomes of peritonitis. There was no relationship between center size and peritonitis rate. The peritonitis rate in Australia between 2003 and 2008 was higher than that reported in many other countries, with a particularly higher rate of gram-negative peritonitis.

Abstract. Although obesity is associated with increased risks of morbidity and death in the general population, a number of studies of patients undergoing hemodialysis have demonstrated that increasing body mass index (BMI) is correlated with decreased mortality risk. Whether this association holds true among patients treated with peritoneal dialysis (PD) has been less well studied. The aim of this investigation was to examine the association between BMI and outcomes among new PD patients in a large cohort, with long-term follow-up monitoring. Using data from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis ). In multivariate analyses, obesity was independently associated with death during PD treatment (hazard ratio, 1.36; 95% confidence interval, 1.14 to 1.54; P Ͻ 0.05) and technique failure (hazard ratio, 1.17; 95% confidence interval, 1.07 to 1.26; P Ͻ 0.01), except among patients of New Zealand Maori/Pacific Islander origin, for whom there was no significant relationship between BMI and death during PD treatment. A supplementary fractional polynomial analysis modeled BMI as a continuous predictor and indicated a Jshaped relationship between BMI and patient mortality rates and a steady increase in death-censored technique failure rates up to a BMI of 40 kg/m 2 ; the mortality risk was lowest for BMI values of approximately 20 kg/m 2 . In conclusion, obesity at the commencement of renal replacement therapy is a significant risk factor for death and technique failure. Such patients should be closely monitored during PD and should be considered for early transfer to an alternative renal replacement therapy if difficulties are experienced.