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Renal transplant recipients are at high risk for multiple non-melanoma skin cancers (NMSC) that occur at a younger age and behave more aggressively. Consequently, the American Society of Transplantation has recommended that physicians conduct annual screenings for NMSC in this population. Few centres currently offer a dedicated surveillance programme. This article discusses a model for skin cancer surveillance in which a trained nurse works within a validated competency programme to provide annual skin surveillance and education in the renal transplant outpatient clinic.

The risk of non-melanoma skin cancer is increased after organ transplantation, with a prevalence and annual incidence for the United Kingdom reported at 16.5% and 7.1-10.6% respectively. 1 2 Non-melanoma skin cancer presents at an earlier age and spreads more rapidly in people who have received a transplant than in the general population, and it often occurs at more than one site. These factors result in substantial morbidity and a sevenfold increase in mortality from the disease, although absolute death rates are low.3 The high incidence, rapid growth, and increased metastatic potential of non-melanoma skin cancer in transplant recipients justifies a surveillance programme. 1 3 We did a survey to establish current practice in skin cancer surveillance in UK centres managing renal transplant recipients. View this table: Skin cancer surveillance and education of transplant recipients followed up in 61 surgical and nephrology centres. Values are numbers (percentages) of centres unless stated otherwise We sent a questionnaire to …