Rituximab in association with rapamycin for post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease treatment

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) is an uncommon but life-threatening complication of solid-organ and blood stem-cell transplants. It responds poorly to therapy, including reduction of immunosuppression, interferon, antivirals or chemotherapy. Small series of PTLD successfully treated with rituximab have been reported, and experimental studies suggest that rapamycin inhibits growth of human Epstein-Barr virus-transformed B lymphocytes. We report two cases of PTLD after renal transplantation that were successfully treated with rituximab in association with rapamycin. This report suggests that rituximab associated with rapamycin could be an effective and safe treatment for PTLD.