The Association of Epstein–Barr Virus with Smooth-Muscle Tumors Occurring after Organ Transplantation

Immunodeficient patients have an increased incidence of neoplasms, whether the immunodeficiency is due to genetic disorders, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), or immunosuppressive therapy. 1 A lymphoproliferative disorder sometimes indistinguishable from lymphoma occurs in patients with AIDS and the recipients of organ transplants. Clonal Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) genome has been found in many lymphoproliferative tumors 2 – 4 and may be causative. 5 Other neoplasms have been described in patients with AIDS, 1 including smooth-muscle tumors. 6 – 11 We describe three children who underwent organ transplantation in whom smooth-muscle tumors developed during immunosuppression. These tumors were all clonal, containing forms of EBV DNA that directly link . . .