Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email
Answers.com

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder

 
Wikipedia: Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder
Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder
Classification and external resources
ICD-9 238.77
ICD-O: M9970/1
DiseasesDB 34154
eMedicine ped/2851 

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is the name given to a group of B cell lymphomas occurring in immunosuppressed patients following organ transplant.

Contents

Incidence/prevalence

It is an uncommon condition occurring in 0.2% of patients within one year of transplant, with an annual incidence of 0.04% thereafter. The risk of developing the disease is higher in children and recipients of small bowel transplants.

Causes

The disease is an uncontrolled proliferation of B cell lymphocytes following infection with Epstein-Barr virus.[1] Production of an interleukin-10, an endogenous anti-T cell cytokine, has also been implicated.

In immunocompetent patients, Epstein-Barr virus causes infectious mononucleosis, characterised by a proliferation of B-lymphocytes which is controlled by Suppressor T cells.

However, calcineurin inhibitors (tacrolimus and cyclosporine) used as immunosuppressants in organ transplantation inhibit T cell function, and can prevent the control of the B cell proliferation.

Depletion of T cells by use of anti-T cell antibodies in the prevention or treatment of transplant rejection further increases the risk of developing post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder. Such antibodies include ATG, ALG and OKT3.

Polyclonal PTLD may form tumor masses and present with symptoms due to a mass effect, e.g. symptoms of bowel obstruction. Monoclonal forms of PTLD tend to form a disseminated malignant lymphoma.

Treatment

PTLD may spontaneously regress on reduction or cessation of immunosuppressant medication,[2] and can also be treated with addition of anti-viral therapy. In some cases it will progress to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and may be fatal.

References


Search unanswered questions...
Enter a question here...
Search: All sources Community Q&A Reference topics
 
 

 

Copyrights:

Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder" Read more