Thymoma and solid-organ transplantation

Abstract

Solid-organ-transplant recipients are at high risk of developing cancer, including thoracic malignancies. Herein, we report on two cases of thymoma in solid-organ recipients. One case was a female kidney-transplant recipient who had a type B2, Masaoka stage IVA thymoma that was treated by extended surgical resection followed by postoperative radiation therapy. The second case was type A Masaoka II thymoma that occurred after a liver transplant. The role of EBV in the oncogenesis of thymoma is controversial. We suggest that viruses may induce neoplasms in this specific population, as observed in post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders. However, Epstein-Barr-encoded RNA (EBER) was negative in both patients.