Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) after renal transplantation: Management and evolution of seven cases among 1002 renal transplants in Sao Paulo, Brazil

We reported seven cases (0.7%) of PTLD among 1002 renal transplants performed at Renal Transplant Service from Hospital Sao Paulo - Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo/Escola Paulista de Medicina, Sao Paulo, Brazil, between 1976 and 1997. There were three male and four female patients with median age of 37 year-old. According to Ann Arbor staging system there were four localized extra-nodal intermediate-grade NHL, one disseminated low-grade NHL and two polyclonal lymphoid hyperplasia. Four patients received cadaveric, two received related and one received unrelated renal transplant. PTLD occurred after a median latency period of 36 months (ranging from 5 to 84 months). In situ hybridization for EBER1 was performed in five patients and molecular evidence of EBV was found in 3 cases (two DLCL and one lymphoplasmocytoid lymphoma). All patients were treated with immunosuppression withdrawal, four patients received anthracyclin-based chemotherapy for control of localized or systemic clonal disease and three were treated with resection of primary PTLD. Four of seven patients (57%) are in complete remission 11, 20, 25 and 79 months after PTLD onset. One patient lost follow-up and two patients died due to lymphoma relapse, respectively 4 and 10 months after completion of treatment. In conclusion, our experience with this small group of patients showed that: I) immunosuppression withdrawal is not necessarily associated with loss of renal transplant and can he used as the only treatment for polyclonal PTLD; 2) chemotherapy can simultaneously lead to clonal PTLD remission and periodic immunosuppression, avoiding graft rejection after immunosuppression withdrawal.