Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder in a kidney transplant recipient: a case of Epstein-Barr virus-positive primary central nervous system lymphoma

Abstract

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) are potentially life-threatening complications of chronic immunosuppression in patients who receive solid organ transplants or allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Most PTLD cases are associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) serology, and their incidence is typically higher in the first year of transplantation. Isolated EBV-positive diffuse large-cell B-cell lymphoma in the renal transplant setting has rarely been reported. Isolated EBV-positive primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is rare, even in renal transplant patients with chronic immunosuppression. We report a case of frontal lobe EBV-positive PCNSL in a renal transplant patient who presented with left-sided weakness and was later treated with a consolidated chemotherapeutic regimen without concurrent radiotherapy.