Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disorder after Liver Transplant: A Systematic Review

Blood ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 136 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 34-35
Author(s):  
Mobeen Zaka Haider ◽  
Zarlakhta Zamani ◽  
Hafsa Shahid ◽  
Muhammad Taqi ◽  
Zahoor Ahmed ◽  
...  

Background: Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), a group of lymphoid disorders ranging from indolent polyclonal proliferation to aggressive lymphomas is a known complication following solid organ transplantation. The aim is to study the incidence, characteristics, predictive factors, management, and outcomes of PTLD after liver transplantation in particular. Methods: Following the PRISMA guideline, we performed a comprehensive literature search on PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and clinicaltrials.gov from the past ten years on May 04, 2020. We used the MeSH terms of organ transplantation and lymphoproliferative disorders. The initial search revealed 1741 articles. We excluded all case reports, case series, pre-clinical trials, review articles, and meta-analysis. We found fifteen studies including retrospective observational and cohort studies. We extracted the data for baseline characteristics, the reason for transplantation, recipient & donor EBV status, immunosuppression used, type & stage of PTLD, organ system involved, duration between transplant and PTLD diagnosis, treatment, response to therapy, adverse effects of therapy and mortality. Results: We included 15 studies with a total (n) of 10706 post-liver transplant patients. 294 (2.74%) patients developed PTLD as a complication, out of which 104 (35.3%) were males, 106 (36%) females, and 84 unknowns. Table 1. The incidence of PTLD in the pediatric group was 135/3116 (4.3%) whereas in the adult population it was 115/7545 (1.5%). Data from eleven studies show that out of 202 participants, 67 recipients were positive, 39 negative, and 18 donors positive for EBV infection at the time of transplant. Data on the EBV serostatus for the remaining 106 recipients was not known at the time of transplant. Data from two studies showed that 25/29 patients who later developed PTLD were seronegative for EBV prior to the transplant and 26/29 were reported to undergo seroconversion partly due to transplantation with EBV positive donors (7/13). Post-transplant immunosuppression was achieved with cyclosporine, tacrolimus, azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, sirolimus, prednisone, OKT3 for acute cellular rejection and induction with monoclonal antibodies. Data from four studies conclude the median age at the time of PTLD diagnosis is 47.6 months in the pediatric population while 54 years in adults, overall ranging from 1 year to 73 years. Ten studies show the overall median duration from organ transplant to the diagnosis of PTLD is 23.5 months. The median duration for the pediatric population was 11.6 months from the data collected from 55 patients whereas five studies with 166 adult liver transplant recipients showed a median duration of 35.5 months. Histopathological types were diagnosed via biopsy samples, with monomorphic in 76 (25.8%), early lesions in 22 (7.4%), polymorphic in 19 (6.4%), and classic Hodgkin lymphoma like PTLD in 8 (2.7%) of the samples. Among the monomorphic type, Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) was the most commonly reported i.e. 10/50 (20%) of patients with monomorphic type in two studies. Treatment of PTLD consisted of reduction or cessation of the post-transplant immunosuppressive drugs, anti-CD20 antibody (rituximab), antiviral treatment with ganciclovir, and lymphoma treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgical resection. Data from eight studies show a mortality rate of 61/214 (28.5%) with Huang, et al. reporting ¾(75%) of total deaths due to PTLD progression. Two studies report an overall survival rate of 26/32 (81.3%) and five-year survival of 15/41 (36.6%). Conclusions: Our analysis shows the incidence of PTLD after liver transplant is low with no significant gender predominance but a difference in the incidence was observed with significantly higher rates in the pediatric group as compared to the adult population. The most common biopsy proved histopathological type was monomorphic, with the least common type being Hodgkin lymphoma like PTLD. Among the monomorphic, DLBCL was the most common subtype. After liver transplantation, the development of PTLD is observed earlier in pediatric patients in comparison to adult recipients. EBV naive patients prior to liver transplantation are at higher risk for seroconversion post-transplant if transplanted with EBV positive donors and hence at increased risk of PTLD development. Disclosures Anwer: Incyte, Seattle Genetics, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals, AbbVie Pharma, Astellas Pharma, Celegene, Millennium Pharmaceuticals.: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.

Blood ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 136 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 38-39
Author(s):  
Mobeen Zaka Haider ◽  
Zarlakhta Zamani ◽  
Muhammad Taqi ◽  
Hasan Mahmood Mirza ◽  
Yousra Khalid ◽  
...  

Background: Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), a group of lymphoid disorders ranging from indolent polyclonal proliferation to aggressive lymphomas is a known complication following solid organ transplantation. The aim is to study the characteristics, predictive factors, management, and outcomes of PTLD among pediatric groups after liver transplantation in particular. Methods: Following the PRISMA guideline, we performed a comprehensive literature search on PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and clinicaltrials.gov from the past ten years on May 04, 2020. We used the MeSH terms of organ transplantation and lymphoproliferative disorders. Initial search revealed 1741 articles. We excluded all case reports, case series, pre-clinical trials, review articles, and meta-analysis. We found five retrospectives observational, one observational cohort study, and one multicenter cohort in the pediatric population. We extracted the data for baseline characteristics, the reason for transplantation, recipient & donor EBV status, immunosuppression used, type & stage of PTLD, organ system involved, duration between transplant and PTLD diagnosis, treatment, response to therapy, adverse effects of therapy and mortality. Results: We included seven retrospective observational studies with a total (n) number of 3116 post-liver transplant pediatric patients, out of which 135 (4.33%) patients who developed PTLD as a complication of transplantation were studied. The male to female ratio was 41: 55 with the gender of 6 patients unknown. In five studies, with 118 PTLD patients, 34 recipients and 24 donors were positive for EBV at the time of liver transplantation. In addition to EBV, CMV status of patients in 5 studies showed 11/25 (44%) PTLD patients positive for CMV at the time of transplant. Post-transplant immunosuppression was achieved among these seven cohorts with cyclosporine, tacrolimus, OKT3, mycophenolate mofetil, prednisone, and basiliximab. The diagnosis was made via biopsy, showing all histopathological types including early lesions 14/46 (30.4%), polymorphic 13/46 (28.3%), monomorphic 18/46 (39.1%), and classic Hodgkin's lymphoma PTLD 1/46 (2.1%). Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma was the most common subtype in 6/18 (33.3%) of samples with monomorphic PTLD. Hsu, et al. in their study showed a five-year survival rate of 33.3% for St. Jude's classification stage IV lymphoma compared to 88.9% for stage I-III. The median age for 36 patients from three studies at the diagnosis of PTLD was 39.6 months (range 24-48 months). The median duration from transplantation to the diagnosis of PTLD was 13.48 months (range 8-24 months) in 54 patients from four studies. PTLD treatment was achieved with a combination of reduction or withdrawal of the immunosuppressive drugs with antiviral prophylaxis, chemotherapy, irradiation & the use of monoclonal antibodies in a total of 57 PTLD patients for which post-transplant immunosuppression data was available. Study by Hsu, et al. reported that 5/16 (31.3%) patients had acute graft rejection and 2 had a chronic rejection in a group of 16 PTLD patients undergoing treatment for PTLD with a reduction in immunosuppressive therapy. The overall mortality in patients who developed PTLD was 15/54 (27.8%) in four of the studies. Conclusions: Pre-transplant EBV-naive status in patients was associated with a higher incidence of PTLD. Advanced stage (Stage IV) lymphoma was associated with poor survival outcomes. Monomorphic histopathology may be most commonly associated with PTLD post-liver transplant. The main approach for the treatment of PTLD is the reduction or complete withdrawal of immunosuppressive drugs, administration of antiviral drugs (ganciclovir/valganciclovir),and lymphoma treatment with chemotherapy or irradiation, and monoclonal antibody therapy such as rituximab. Management of PTLD with reduction or withdrawal of post-transplant immunosuppressive drugs in one cohort was associated with an increased risk of graft rejection. Thus immunosuppressive therapy maintaining a fine balance between the risk of graft rejection and risk of developing PTLD may be associated with better patient outcomes post-liver transplant. Disclosures Anwer: Incyte, Seattle Genetics, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals, AbbVie Pharma, Astellas Pharma, Celegene, Millennium Pharmaceuticals.: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.


Blood ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 136 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 7-8
Author(s):  
Mobeen Zaka Haider ◽  
Zarlakhta Zamani ◽  
Muhammad Taqi ◽  
Hafsa Shahid ◽  
Zahoor Ahmed ◽  
...  

Background: Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), is one of the major complications after organ transplantation. The aim of this study is to study the incidence, risk factors especially EBV status, histopathological types, management, and outcomes of PTLD in the pediatric groups. Methods: Following the PRISMA guideline, we performed a comprehensive literature search on PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and clinicaltrials.gov from the past ten years on May 04, 2020. We used the MeSH terms of organ transplantation and lymphoproliferative disorders. The initial search revealed 1741 articles. We excluded all case reports, case series, pre-clinical trials, review articles, and meta-analysis. We found twenty-eight studies. We extracted the data for baseline characteristics, recipient & donor EBV status, immunosuppression used, type & stage of PTLD, organ system involved, duration between transplant and PTLD diagnosis, treatment, and mortality. Results: We included 32 studies with a total (n) of 15597 pediatric patients after a solid organ transplant. 1210 (7.75%) patients developed PTLD, out of which 609 (50.33%) were male participants, 453 (37.4%) female, and 148 (12.23%) the gender was unknown. (Table 1) Data from 19 studies showed that among PTLD patients, 115 recipients & 76 donors tested positive for Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), 187 recipients were seronegative and the rest were unknown at the time of transplant. Immunosuppressive drugs used after organ transplantation included; cyclosporine, tacrolimus, sirolimus, azathioprine, mycophenolate, prednisone, mTOR inhibitors, induction therapy with OKT3, IL-2 inhibitors (basiliximab, daclizumab) and anti-thymocyte/anti-lymphocyte globulin. In two studies, antiviral prophylaxis with ganciclovir/valganciclovir was achieved. Data from nine studies showed the median age at PTLD diagnosis was 6.8 years. L'Huillier et al. stated that the median duration for EBV positive recipients to develop PTLD was 1.92 years (0.35-3.09 years), compared to EBV negative recipients, which was 0.95 years (2.48-2.92 years). Overall, the median duration from organ transplant to the diagnosis of PTLD among 15 studies was 29.1 months, ranging from 0.9 months to 186 months. The histopathology of PTLD was confirmed via biopsy specimen showing predominance in monomorphic type, i.e; 265/1210 (21.9%), followed by polymorphic type with 140/1210 (11.5%), an early lesion with 46/1210 (3.80%), Non-Hodgkin lymphoma 28/1210 (2.3%), Hodgkin lymphoma 33/1210 (2.72%) and mixed type (polymorphic & monomorphic) 4/1210 (0.33%). Histopathological data for 694 patients were not available. Treatment of PTLD was achieved with reduction or complete cessation of immunosuppressive therapy, anti-CD20 antibody (rituximab), antiviral treatment with ganciclovir/valganciclovir, lymphoma treatment with chemotherapeutic agents, radiotherapy, and surgical resection. Gajarski et al. concluded that patients who received induction therapy [OKT3, IL-2 antagonists (basiliximab, daclizumab) and anti-thymocyte globulin] had significantly less PTLD development as compared to those who did not receive induction therapy, i.e., (2.9% vs. 4.9%) among 2374 total patients. According to Hayes Jr. et al., recipient EBV seronegativity continued to be associated with lower mortality hazard (HR 0.715; 95 % CI 0.547, 0.935; p = 0.014). Data from 19 studies showed the mortality rate among 494 PTLD diagnosed patients was 22.7% (112) with an overall survival of 84.2% respectively from three studies. Data from five studies showed that direct PTLD related mortality accounted for 63% (17/27) of deaths in PTLD diagnosed patients. Conclusion: Our analysis shows that post-transplant EBV positive recipients who undergo multiorgan transplants are more likely to develop PTLD compared to EBV positive recipients with single organ transplantation. The median duration from organ transplants to the diagnosis of PTLD ranged from months to years, however, this duration was reported to be less in EBV negative recipients compared to EBV positive recipients with organ transplants. The most common histological type of PTLD among pediatric groups was monomorphic and the least common was Classic Hodgkin lymphoma. Rituximab use in the treatment of PTLD was associated with a decreased use of alkylating agents and as a result, the side effects associated with these agents were reduced. Disclosures Anwer: Incyte, Seattle Genetics, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals, AbbVie Pharma, Astellas Pharma, Celegene, Millennium Pharmaceuticals.: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.


Blood ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 136 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 35-36
Author(s):  
Mobeen Zaka Haider ◽  
Zarlakhta Zamani ◽  
Muhammad Taqi ◽  
Hasan Mahmood Mirza ◽  
Aneeza Irfan ◽  
...  

Background: Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), is one of the major complications after organ transplantation. The aim of this study is to study the incidence, various risk factors especially EBV status, histopathological types, management, and outcomes of PTLD following kidney transplantation in the pediatric groups. Methods: Following the PRISMA guideline, we performed a comprehensive literature search on PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and clinicaltrials.gov from the past ten years on May 04, 2020. We used the MeSH terms of organ transplantation and lymphoproliferative disorders. The initial search revealed 1741 articles. We excluded all case reports, case series, pre-clinical trials, review articles, and meta-analysis. We found five retrospectives observational, one retrospective questionnaire survey, one prospective observational, and one prospective trial study. We extracted the data for baseline characteristics, the reason for transplantation, recipient & donor EBV status, immunosuppression used, type & stage of PTLD, organ system involved, duration between transplant and PTLD diagnosis, treatment, response to therapy, adverse effects of therapy and mortality. Results: We included eight studies with a total (n) number of 1713 post-kidney transplant pediatric patients, out of which 148 (8.63%) patients who developed PTLD as a complication of transplantation were studied(table 1). Among the 148 patients diagnosed with PTLD, 96 (64.86%) were males, 49 (33.1%) female participants and 3 (2.2%) were unknown. 34/148 (22.97%) PTLD recipients were EBV (+), 86 (58.1%) EBV (-) and 28 (18.9%) unknown at the time of transplant. EBV status for donors was known in only 2 studies, showing 7/99 (7.1%) to be EBV (+) at the time of transplant. Höcker et al. have shown that antiviral prophylaxis with ganciclovir/valganciclovir in the first year post-renal transplant reduces the risk of EBV viremia. Post-transplant immunosuppressive drugs included tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, azathioprine, sirolimus, cyclosporine, IL-2R antagonist, methylprednisolone, basiliximab, daclizumab, anti-thymocyte globulin/anti-lymphocyte globulin, OKT3. In some cohorts, rituximab and antiviral prophylaxis with ganciclovir or valganciclovir were also used in some patients. The median time from transplant to the diagnosis of PTLD from five studies with 125 patients was 16 months (0.9m-186m). Longmore et al. reported a bimodal distribution curve, with 50% presenting with early PTLD, i.e. after a median duration of 313 days and 50% presenting late after a median duration of 8 years. The histopathological types of PTLD were diagnosed via biopsy samples, showing predominance with polymorphic type 48 (32.4%), followed by monomorphic type 45 (30.4%), early lesion 4 (2.7%), Kaposi like PTLD 1 (0.67%) and Hodgkin lymphoma 1 (0.67%). The histological testing results from two of the studies also showed that 18/19 (94.7%) of diagnosed PTLD samples were EBV positive. PTLD was managed with reduction or cessation of the immunosuppressive drugs, anti-CD20 antibodies, chemotherapy for lymphoma, and in some cases mTOR inhibitors, intravenous immunoglobulins, and surgical resection. Data from 5 studies show the mortality rate of 12/51 (23.5%) among PTLD groups. The survival rate from 2 studies was 100% among 17 PTLD patients and 1 study showed a 5-year survival rate of 85% among 92 PTLD patients. Cleper et al. in their study concluded that the type of PTLD might have a significant effect on the outcome, as ¾ (75%) deaths in the PTLD group were attributed to anaplastic T-cell type. Conclusions: Our analysis shows the EBV infection is closely associated with a higher risk of PTLD development. Recipients' EBV seronegativity and positive EBV status of the donor have been shown to increase post-transplant EBV infection risk which is associated with a higher risk of PTLD development. Furthermore, our study shows that PTLD may occur in less than a month to more than 15 years of renal transplant. The polymorphic type was the most common and Hodgkin lymphoma-type, the least commonly reported PTLD type. The main therapeutic approach is the reduction or cessation of immunosuppression. Disclosures Anwer: Incyte, Seattle Genetics, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals, AbbVie Pharma, Astellas Pharma, Celegene, Millennium Pharmaceuticals.: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau.


QJM ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
M G Abdelrahman ◽  
H A Mahmoud ◽  
M K Mohsen ◽  
M O Ali ◽  
A M N Mohamed

Abstract Background Liver transplantation is considered to be the only curative treatment for patients with end stage liver disease. Postoperative infection remains to be one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality throughout the past years. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection although considered to be a weak viral infection that usually passes asymptomatic in immunocompetent patients, however, it is considered one of the most common pathogens causing morbidities and mortality in liver transplant recipients. Multiple studies have been done to assess the risk factors for developing CMV infection. Objective Identification of risk factors predicting Cytomegalovirus infection in liver transplant recipients following transplantation. Methods This retrospective study was conducted on 194 patients and their donors who underwent living donor liver transplantation operation at Ain Shams centre for organ transplantation (ASCOT) at Ain Shams specialized hospital in the period between January 2010 and December 2016 with at least one year follow up period after operation for the recipient group. Results In our study, 194 patients undergoing liver transplantation at Ain shams centre for organ transplantation over seven years from January 2010 to December 2016 have been followed to assess risk factors affecting CMV infection development. Chronic rejection was found to be the most common factor associated with CMV infection followed by Cyclosporin (Neoral) as main postoperative immunosuppressant following liver transplantation. Other factors that were found to carry risk for CMV infection included younger age, advanced MELD score, positive CMV IgM status of the donors and recipients. Conclusion Differentiation of Cytomegalovirus disease from Cytomegalovirus infection isn’t always available as it requires tissue invasive techniques. Multiple risk factors have been attributed to cause Cytomegalovirus infection (viremia) . In our study, rejection (chronic rejection) was the factor that carries highest risk for Cytomegalovirus infection development followed by Cyclosporin .


Author(s):  
A. V. Shabunin ◽  
S. P. Loginov ◽  
P. A. Drozdov ◽  
I. V. Nesterenko ◽  
D. A. Makeev ◽  
...  

Rationale. To date, liver transplantation is the most effective method of treating end-stage liver failure, and therefore this treatment has become widespread throughout the world. However, due to the improvement in the quality of transplant care and an increase in the long-term survival of patients, the development of concomitant pathology, which often requires medical treatment, is inevitably associated with a higher life expectancy of liver transplant recipients. Thus, in patients who underwent liver transplantation, there is. a significant increase in the incidence of dyslipidemia. However, a long-term immunosuppressive therapy in organ transplant patients can adversely modify the effect of the prescribed drugs, which requires careful monitoring and consideration of drug interactions.Purpose. Using a clinical example to demonstrate the importance of taking drug interactions into account in the treatment of patients after organ transplantation receiving immunosuppressive drugs.Material and methods. In the presented clinical case, a patient after orthotopic liver transplantation performed in 2005 underwent a staged treatment of cicatricial stricture of choledochal anastomosis in the S.P. Botkin City Clinical Hospital. During the following hospitalization, the patient complained of minor muscle pain when walking. At doctor's visit 3 weeks before hospitalization, a local physician prescribed therapy with atorvastatin 10 mg per day due to an increase in blood plasma cholesterol levels. The patient underwent removal of the self-expanding nitinol stent. During the follow-up examination, the patient had no evidence of an impaired bile outflow, however, muscle pain and weakness progressively increased, the rate of diuresis decreased, and in the biochemical analysis of blood there was an abrupt increase in the concentration of creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase. Atorvastatin was canceled, a diagnosis of acute non-traumatic rhabdomyolysis was established, treatment with hemodialysis and plasma exchange was started on 03/05/2020. The last session of renal replacement therapy was 03/30/20.Results. With the restoration of the diuresis rate, there was a spontaneous decrease in the level of creatinine to 170 μmol/L. The patient was discharged with satisfactory renal and hepatic function. The pain syndrome completely resolved. Conclusion. Drug interactions between atorvastatin and cyclosporine have resulted in acute rhabdomyolysis with life-threatening consequences. This once again confirms the importance of taking drug interactions into account when managing patients after solid organ transplantation.


Author(s):  
Jonathon Nelson ◽  
Franklyn P. Cladis

Liver transplantation has become a standard surgical treatment for pediatric patients with hepatic failure, tumors, and metabolic derangements. Liver transplantation in the pediatric population can be extremely challenging for the anesthesiologist due to multiple perioperative considerations. The first successful liver transplant was performed in a pediatric patient in the 1960s, and since then, there have been significant advances in immunosuppressant medications and preservation solutions which have led to improved survival. Nevertheless, the number of liver transplants continues to be limited by organ availability, although the pediatric donor pool has been increased by living related donors and split livers. The most common pediatric pathology that results in hepatic failure and transplantation is biliary atresia. This chapter covers the perioperative care of a pediatric patient undergoing a liver transplant, from the preoperative preparation to the intraoperative management, and discusses postoperative challenges which may be encountered while in the intensive care unit.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick L. Stevens ◽  
Douglas B. Johnson ◽  
Mary Ann Thompson ◽  
Vicki L. Keedy ◽  
Haydar A. Frangoul ◽  
...  

Neuroblastoma is the third most commonly occurring malignancy of the pediatric population, although it is extremely rare in the adult population. In adults, neuroblastoma is often metastatic and portends an extremely poor overall survival. Our case report documents metastatic neuroblastoma occurring in a healthy 29-year-old woman whose course was complicated by an unusual presentation of elevated intracranial pressures. The patient was treated with systemic chemotherapy, I131metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) radiotherapy, and autologous stem cell transplant (SCT). Unfortunately the patient’s response to therapy was limited and she subsequently died. We aim to review neuroblastoma in the context of increased intracranial pressure and the limited data of neuroblastoma occurring in the adult population, along with proposed treatment options.


Blood ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (11) ◽  
pp. 5447-5447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surabhi Amar ◽  
Sudhir Singh Sekhon ◽  
Vivek Roy

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) are B-cell disorders characterized by abnormal lymphoid proliferation due to immunesuppression mediated T-cell dysfunction after organ transplantation, and carry a poor prognosis. Reduction of immunesuppression is the first line of therapy but involves the risk of allograft rejection. Anti-viral agents like acyclovir, intravenous immunoglobulin, interferon-α, anti interleukin -6 antibodies, chemotherapy and rituximab are other treatments that have been tried with limited success. EBV-specific adaptive immunetherapy is promising but only available in a few centers. Prognosis is poorer in patients with relapsed disease. We report the case of a 46 year-old liver transplant recipient, with recurrent PTLD after liver transplantation, who was successfully treated with high dose chemotherapy followed by autologous bone marrow transplant (ABMT). He had undergone an orthotopic liver transplant (OLT) 13 years ago for primary sclerosing cholangitis. PTLD (EBV related, Hodgkin like, CD20+ and CD30+) developed 7 years ago, and initially resolved with ganciclovir and reduction of immunesuppression. The patient relapsed 5 years later. Immunesuppression was discontinued and 3 cycles of rituximab with CHOP (R-CHOP) followed by 4 doses of R at weekly intervals were given leading to complete response. Four months later, he again relapsed and responded to 4 more cycles of R-CHOP. He was referred to our center for transplant evaluation. Progenitor cell mobilization with filgrastim was unsuccessful. He underwent an unstimulated bone marrow harvest yielding 1.02 × 10 6 CD34 cells/kg. Transplant conditioning was with R-BEAM. Because of abnormal liver function tests and concern for further hepatotoxicity, carmustine dose was reduced by 50%. Immunesuppression for OLT was withheld during the transplant period. He tolerated the chemotherapy well but had delayed neutrophil and platelet engrafment (days +31 and +50 respectively). Liver functions deteriorated in the post transplant period, but responded to reinitiation of prednisone and tacrolimus on days +41 and +50, respectively. Post transplant PET/CT imaging performed on day+45 revealed complete resolution of his lymphadenopathy. He continues to be asymptomatic with no evidence of relapse days+ 72 after transplant, at the time of this writing. ABMT is the standard of care for chemotherapy-sensitive relapsed lymphomas. However, the complexity of ABMT after a prior solid organ transplant limits its use for relapsed PTLD. There is a higher likelihood of regimen-related toxicity, and immunesuppression needs to be carefully managed. While it is desirable to reduce immunesuppression during the transplant period to minimize infections and to control PTLD, this has to be balanced against the risk of solid organ graft rejection. This is particularly critical in patients with liver transplantation in whom (unlike renal graft) loss of liver graft may be fatal. There are only 6 previous cases of PTLD treated with stem cell transplant, but none of these patients had a prior OLT. Our experience with this case suggests that autologous bone marrow transplant can be a potential treatment option for patients with recurrent PTLD in selected patients. Appropriate dose modification of conditioning regimen and careful management of peritransplant immunesuppression appears important for successful outcome.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document