Anaplastic T large cell lymphoma diagnosed by exfoliative cytology in a post renal transplant patient

In the last two decades posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) have been recognized as a complication of organ transplantation with immunosuppression. The reported incidence of PTLDs in renal transplant patients ranges between 0.3–3% (Birkeland et al., Transplantation 1999;67:876–881). In contrast to the reported incidence of PTLDs in post bone marrow transplant, it is 1% in HLA-matched recipients and up to 20% in HLA mismatched T-cell depleted bone marrow recipients (Curtis et al., Blood 1996;94:2208–2216).2 In cardiac transplant recipients the reported incidence of PTLDs is between 1.8–9.8 (Mihalov et al., Clin Transplant 1996;10:248–255). PTLDs are predominately extranodal. They have varied morphologic patterns and clonality, but almost all are associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). The vast majority are of B cell lineage; only about 10% are of T-cell origin. We report a T-cell anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) presenting with bilateral pleural effusion and liver involvement in a renal transplant recipient. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2002;27:35–37. © 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.