The medications transplant patients take to prevent rejection of their transplanted organs may have a variety of side effects. Many of the side effects, in particular the increased risk of skin cancer, may be minimized by decreasing the doses of these medications to the minimum levels necessary to prevent graft rejection. The following is a listing of the immunosuppressive agents and many of their possible dermatologic side effects.

1. Azathioprine (Imuran) may cause herpes simplex or herpes zoster (shingles), hypertrichosis (excessive hair growth), pruritis, rash, and skin ulcerations.
2. Cyclosporine (Sandimmune, Neoral) may cause hirsutism (excessive hair growth in male hormone dependent areas), gum hyperplasia (overgrowth), brittle fingernails, hair breaking, and pruritis.
3. Daclizumab (Zenapax) may cause impaired wound healing, acne, pruritis, hirsutism, rashes, night sweats, and increased sweating.
4. Muromonab-CD3 (Orthoclone OKT3) may cause rashes, Steven Johnson Syndrome, urticaria, pruritis, erythema, flushing, diaphoresis.
5. Mycophenolate Mofetil (Cellcept) may cause hair loss, hirsutism, pruritis, benign skin tumors, skin ulcers, sweating, bruising, and skin cancer.
6. Tacrolimus, FK506 (Prograf) may cause hair loss, herpes simplex, hirsutism, and increased sweating.
7. Prednisone may cause impaired wound healing, thin fragile skin, easy bruising, erythema (redness), stretch marks, hirsutism, acneform eruptions, and skin infections.
8. Rapamycin (Sirolimus) may cause acne, skin sores, white spots or sores on lips or in mouth, yellow skin and eyes.

	For more information on medications for kidney transplant recipients
	For more information on medication for liver transplant recipients
	For more information on the medication for heart transplant recipients

International Transplant Skin Cancer Collaborative
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