BACKGROUND: Most of the available data suggest that the risk of malignancy in solid organ recipients is higher than in the general population. In Poland, the prevalence rate for malignancy in the general population is about 1.02%.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: At out Outpatient Clinic for patients after heart transplantation we analyzed all 324 patients transplanted from 1987–2011 for the presence of malignancies. The end-point of the analysis was determined by malignancy diagnosis, patient death, or end of the observation period (December 12, 2011).

RESULTS: We detected 31 malignancies in 29 of 324 patients (8.95%). In 2 patients we found 2 types of malignancies. The dominant type of malignancy was pulmonary carcinoma, diagnosed in 11/29 (37.93%) patients. Skin carcinoma was recognized in 7 patients (24.14%). Fourteen (48.3%) patients died (12 men and 2 women): 5 of them in the course of pulmonary carcinoma (35.7%), 3 of skin carcinoma (21.4), 3 in the course of lymphoma, 1 in the course of renal carcinoma, 1 in the course of stomach carcinoma, 1 of colorectal carcinoma, and 1 of prostatic carcinoma.

CONCLUSIONS: The risk of malignancy development is many times higher for HT patients than in the general population. The high incidence rate for pulmonary carcinoma in the analyzed group of patients was most likely related to smoking before transplantation and continuation of smoking after the procedure in the case of patients who received immunosuppressive therapy.

Keywords: Heart Transplantation, malignancies, Epidemiology