How Should We Treat Early Post-Transplant Lymphoproliferative Disease After Heart Transplantation?

Although post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) is one of the major fatal complications encountered several years after heart transplant (HTx), little is known about early-PTLD emerging within the first year. We here describe the rare case of a 24-year-old female patient who suffered from early-PTLD (DLBCL: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma) associated with an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, that developed around the jejunum at 7 months after HTx. She suffered from acute abdominal peritonitis due to perforation of the jejunum soon after the first chemotherapy. She was treated successfully by emergent partial resection of the jejunum and colostomy after the discontinuation of everolimus (EVL) and successive low-dose chemotherapy under careful monitoring and adjustment of intravenous immunosuppressant including cyclosporine (CyA) and prednisolone to avoid a rejection reaction. Prophylactic strategies for early-PTLD in HTx recipients should be undertaken with caution.