Exploring Skin Cancer Risk in Chronic Kidney Disease Patients: A Single Arm of Meta-analysis

Abstract

Skin cancers are among the most prevalent malignancies that develop following renal transplantation. This review aims to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the risk of skin cancer among patients with chronic kidney disease. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We searched Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Komaki databases for research publications on chronic kidney disease and skin cancer published between February 2016 and January 2023. The prevalence of skin cancer among chronic kidney disease patients was meta-analyzed. A random-effects meta-regression was performed, and the risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. A total of 16 studies, encompassing 151,987 patients, fulfilled the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. The aggregated incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer among renal transplant recipients was 4.32% (95% CI, 4.1-4.5%), while the incidence of melanoma skin cancer was 1.92% (95% CI, 1.85-1.99%). The pooled prevalence of non-melanoma skin cancer and melanoma skin cancer was 5.7% (95% CI, 1.1-10.3%) and 0.25% (95% CI, 0.11-0.39%), respectively. In conclusion, our study confirms a heightened risk of skin cancer in chronic kidney disease patients. Further research with larger samples and enhanced surveillance is crucial to better understand and address this risk.