Low-Dose Retinoids in the Prevention of Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinomas in Organ Transplant Recipients

A long‐term cohort study of acitretin for prevention of keratinocyte carcinoma in solid organ transplant recipients

“…Our analyses also correlated increasing age with higher KC rate, but this was not significant. Other studies have shown that age (≥ 55 years vs < 55 years) had no major effect on retinoid efficacy 10 . We found time since transplantation did not impact acitretin effect, consistent with prior literature 10 …”

“…Other studies have shown that age (≥ 55 years vs < 55 years) had no major effect on retinoid efficacy. 10 We found time since transplantation did not impact acitretin effect, consistent with prior literature. 10 Acitretin dosing in our cohort, titrated according to clinical benefit and side effects, was at a median of 10 mg daily, lower than most studies, which included doses up to 50 mg daily.…”

“…10 We found time since transplantation did not impact acitretin effect, consistent with prior literature. 10 Acitretin dosing in our cohort, titrated according to clinical benefit and side effects, was at a median of 10 mg daily, lower than most studies, which included doses up to 50 mg daily. 8,10,11,14 Nine of 54 (16.7%) patients ceased acitretin in our clinic due to side effects.…”

“…9 In a retrospective before-after study where the mean SCC number was 2.9 in the 12-month pretreatment interval, Harwood and colleagues showed a mean difference of SCC of 1.46 in the first year of treatment (P = 0.006), 2.20 in the second (P < 0.001) and 2.14 in the third (P = 0.02). 10 The overall KC rates in our study mirrored closely the SCC and SCCIS subgroup rates. BCCs developed less often, and the IRR was significantly reduced only for the first year on acitretin.…”

Cutaneous invasive squamous cell carcinoma: 10‐year experience and recommendations for follow up

“…Tumours larger than 2 cm in diameter have double the local recurrence rate and triple the metastatic rate compared with smaller tumours. 19 In our study group, all but two patients' index SCC were smaller than 2 cm and, with only a single recurrence recorded, these results support the size association.…”