Extranodal Ki-1 lymphoma in a renal transplant patient

THe Ki-1 (CD 30) antigen has been identified as a marker of a subset of large cell anaplastic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that may have a more favourable prognosis. We describe an immunosuppressed renal transplant patient who developed primary extranodal large cell anaplastic Ki-1 lymphoma of T-cell phenotype confined to the sigmoid colon. The patient was treated with local resection of the sigmoid colon and reduction of immunosuppression and at two year follow-up remains free of recurrence. It is recognised that long term immunosuppression in post transplant patients increases the risk of certain malignancies. Localised gut lymphoma may be amenable to local resection as a curative procedure.