Neoplastic Diseases After Heart Transplantation: Clinical Experience and Review of the Literature

Increased risk of malignancy is a well-known complication of heart transplantation. In this report the incidence and the clinical presentation of post-transplant malignancy were evaluated. Between February 1998 and March 2003, 27 patients underwent heart transplantation. Heart transplantation recipients with more than 2 months follow-up were investigated for neoplastic disorders. Neoplastic diseases developed in three of 22 patients (13.6%) who survived more than 2 months. Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease in 2 patients and Kaposi’s sarcoma in 1 patient were the underlying malignancies. Mean age at transplantation was 51 years. The median time between transplantation and detection of a malignancy was 14 months with a range of 2 to 30 months. Macroscopic involvement of the allograft by lymphoma occurred in one patient. The diagnosis was made at postmortem examination in this patient. The other two patients have no evidence of tumor recurrence after treatment at follow-up. Although the majority of post-transplant tumours occur after a relatively long period of follow-up, some malignancies, especially lymphoproliferative disorders, may appear in the early post-transplant period. (Türk Kardiyol Dern Arş 2004; 32: 208-214)