T-cell lymphoma after heart transplantation

Am J Clin Pathol. 1990 Jul;94(1):95-101. doi: 10.1093/ajcp/94.1.95.

Abstract

A 26-year-old woman who had undergone orthotopic heart transplantation because of dilative cardiomyopathy received a triple-drug immunosuppressive regimen (cyclosporine A, azathioprine, and prednisolone). During her relatively frequent episodes of acute rejection, she was treated with methylprednisolone and repeated application of ATG. A short time before the patient's death, a fine-needle aspiration of the liver revealed the cytologic diagnosis of a malignant pleomorphic medium-size cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of a higher grade of malignancy. Immunosuppression was reduced, and the patient died in cardiogenic shock related to a histologically confirmed episode of severe acute rejection 264 days after the transplantation. On autopsy, the malignant lymphoma previously diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration cytology was found to be present in the liver as the only extranodal localization. The immunohistologic analysis of the immunophenotype specified the lymphomatous neoplasia as a T-cell lymphoma. The particular importance of this case is that it is, to our knowledge, the third case of proven T-cell lymphoma following organ grafting documented in the literature and the first case described in a cardiac allograft recipient.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Female
  • Heart Transplantation / adverse effects*
  • Humans
  • Immunoenzyme Techniques
  • Immunosuppression Therapy
  • Liver Neoplasms / etiology*
  • Liver Neoplasms / genetics
  • Liver Neoplasms / metabolism
  • Liver Neoplasms / pathology
  • Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / etiology*
  • Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / genetics
  • Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / metabolism
  • Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / pathology
  • Nucleic Acid Hybridization
  • Phenotype
  • T-Lymphocytes / immunology
  • T-Lymphocytes / metabolism