Objectives: To determine if there is an increased rate of occurrence of bladder cancer in renal transplant recipients.
Methods: We reviewed the records of 3130 consecutive renal transplant recipients at the University of Wisconsin Hospital from 1980 to 1994. We then compared the rate of occurrence of bladder cancer in this population with that of the general population of Wisconsin. Using an age-specific hazard model based on the rate of bladder cancer in the general population of Wisconsin, we predicted the expected number of bladder cancer cases in this renal transplant population.
Results: Using this model, one would expect 1.81 cases of bladder cancer in the renal transplant data set, as opposed to the observed 6, resulting in a relative risk of 3.31 of developing bladder cancer as a result of renal transplantation.
Conclusions: There is a higher incidence of bladder cancer in renal transplant recipients. Therefore, despite a higher incidence of hematuria in this population, each noninfected patient with microscopic (or gross) hematuria should undergo a careful urologic evaluation.