[Leiomyosarcoma associated with Epstein-Barr virus in an adult with renal transplant]

Recently the association between the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and smooth muscle lesions has been described in immunosuppressed children but it is infrequent in adults. The role of EBV in the pathogenesis of these lesions is obscure. We presents a 28 year old man with end stage renal disease transplanted in 1994. Two years later he developed several nodular lesions that affected both lungs, liver, spleen, retroperitoneal ganglia and the left thigh; one year later he died. The surgical specimen from the thigh and a liver biopsy were diagnosed as leiomyosarcoma. Immunohistochemical reactions against vimentin and smooth muscle actin were positive. In situ hybridization disclosed positivity against EBV nuclear antigens (EBNA-2) in neoplasic cells. This is the first case of sarcoma in transplanted patients of our institution and represents a rare case of leiomyosarcoma associated with EBV in adults.