ALPHA-INTERFERON GENE DELETIONS IN POSTTRANSPLANT LYMPHOMA

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is a well-recogniz ed complication of organ transplant and has been associated with high mortality using conventional chemotherapy. We have investigated 11 cas es of PTLD for alterations to the interferon alpha (IFNA) and p16 gene s on chromosome 9p using archival material. 4/9 (44%) cases had deleti ons of the IFNA genes, in contrast to 1/59 (1.7%) cases of intermediat e/high-grade de novo NHL drawn from the same geographical region. PTLD may therefore represent a distinct NHL subgroup exhibiting distinct g ene pathology.