Background: Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) is a serious complication because of the reactivation of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). Although after solid organ transplantation (SOT) EBV is typically of recipient origin, after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) donor-derived B cells are usually the source of the EBV-induced lymphoproliferation.
Observation: We report a unique presentation of an EBV-associated PTLD in a 13-year-old boy who underwent 2 subsequent HSCTs from 2 different-sex donors for BCR-ABL-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and relapses of leukemia, respectively. The PTLD tissue was analyzed for the origin of both B cells and T cells of the lesion. Chimerism analysis done with short tandem repeat systems (STR) showed no autologous signals; approximately 50% of the cells were from the first and second donors, respectively. XY-fluorescence in situ hybridization showed a B-cell PTLD originating from the first donor surrounded by T cells from the second donor.
Conclusion: This case shows that EBV-infected B cells from a first donor can be the source of a PTLD after a second myeloablative HSCT from a different donor.