Post-transplantation T cell lymphoblastic lymphoma

Immunosuppressed renal transplant recipients are at increased risk for large cell lymphoma of B cell phenotype. This report describes a case of post-transplantation lymphoma presenting with a mediastinal mass causing superior vena cava syndrome, tracheal obstruction, and pleural effusion. Cytospin preparations of pleural fluid documented (1) high-grade lymphoblastic lymphoma morphology and (2) immature T cell (cortical thymocyte) phenotype: Leu 1-6-positive, Leu 9-positive, Tdt-positive, B-negative, Calla-positive. The occurrence of post-transplantation lymphoma of T cell lineage is inconsistent with the postulated Epstein-Barr virus origin and raises important questions regarding the development of lymphoproliferative disorders in immunosuppressed organ transplant recipients.