EBV-Associated B- and T-Cell Posttransplant Lymphoproliferative Disorders Following Primary EBV Infection in a Kidney Transplant Recipient

Abstract

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) usually are of B-cell lineage and associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). PTLDs of T-cell lineage are much less common and infrequently associated with EBV. We report a rare case of a girl in whom B-cell and T-cell PTLDs developed following 2 EBV-negative kidney transplants. Within 2 years of the second transplantation, the originally EBV-negative patient developed both an EBV-associated clonal B-cell PTLD involving lymph nodes and an EBV-positive T-cell PTLD involving bone marrow and liver. These proliferations occurred concurrently with evidence of primary EBV infection and high plasma viral load. The patient eventually died of multiorgan failure 5 years after the initial transplant (3 years after the second transplant). To our knowledge, only 4 cases of both B-cell and T-cell PTLDs have been reported. Only 2 cases have been proven to be monoclonal and EBV-associated, as in this case, the first following kidney transplantation.