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Malignancies are a well-known complication of immunosuppressive therapy among renal transplant recipients, representing an important cause of long-term morbidity and mortality. Rapamycin has been shown to limit the proliferation of a number of malignant cell lines in vivo and in vitro.

Fifteen patients developed the following malignancies at a mean of 90.3 months (range = 10–252) after kidney transplantation: metastatic gastric cancer (n = 1), metastatic colon cancer (n = 1), bilateral nephrourothelioma (n = 1), skin cancer (n = 2), Kaposi's sarcoma (n = 2), posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD; n = 4), renal cell carcinoma T1 (n = 1), MALT lymphoma (n = 1), intramucous colon carcinoma (n = 1), liposarcoma of the spermatic cord (n = 1). After the diagnosis of malignancy, the patients were switched from calcineurin inhibitor-based immunosuppression to rapamycin …