Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder
| Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder | |
|---|---|
| Other names | PTLD |
| Micrograph of a bronchial biopsy showing infiltrating lymphocytes infected by Epstein–Barr virus. HES stain. | |
| Specialty | Immunology |
Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) is the name given to a B cell proliferation due to therapeutic immunosuppression after organ transplantation. These patients may develop infectious mononucleosis-like lesions or polyclonal polymorphic B-cell hyperplasia. Some of these B cells may undergo mutations which will render them malignant, giving rise to a lymphoma.
In some patients, the malignant cell clone can become the dominant proliferating cell type, leading to frank lymphoma, a group of B cell lymphomas occurring in immunosuppressed patients following organ transplant.