MANAGEMENT OF LYMPHOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS AFTER CARDIAC TRANSPLANTATION

We conducted a retrospective study of 516 cardiac recipients who under went transplantation between April 1983 and April 1992, 19 of whom had development of post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorders (PT LDs). These 19 patients presented with involvement of lung (5), gastro intestinal tract (5), disseminated disease (6), and adenoids and lymph nodes (3). B-cell proliferations ranging from an atypical hyperplasia to malignant lymphoma developed in 18 patients, and mixed cellularity Hodgkin's disease developed in 1 patient. The 19 patients with PTLD d isplayed a predominance of both women and cardiomyopathy as the indica tion for transplantation when compared with two separate control popul ations. No correlation was found between demographic criteria analyzed and (1) early versus late diagnosis of PTLD after transplantation, (2 ) the site of PTLD involvement, or (3) the histopathologic category of the PTLD lesion. Patients with gastrointestinal tract and lung PTLD i nvolvement enjoyed an improved survival after both transplantation and PTLD diagnosis when compared with patients with PTLD involvement of a ll other extranodal sites. We report a high incidence of PTLD involvin g the lung and gastrointestinal tract in our cohort study. These sites of involvement responded better to a reduction in immunosuppression t han did the other extranodal sites of involvement.