Double Endocrine Neoplasia in a Renal Transplant Recipient: Case
Report and Review of the Literature
A.I. Lo Monte, V.D. Palumbo, G. Damiano, C. Maione, A.M. Florena, M.C. Gioviale, G. Spinelli,
M. Bellavia, F. Cacciabaudo, and G. Buscemi
ABSTRACT
Introduction. The incidence of cancer compared for age groups is 3– 4 times higher in
transplant recipients than the general population. The increased risk is related to
immunosuppressive therapy as well as the use of increasingly older donors and recipients.
Although cardiovascular disease with a functioning transplant is the leading cause of death
(47%), cancer mortality is significant especially among older patients. However, the most
frequent posttransplantation cancers relate to hemolymphopoietic organs and skin,
whereas the occurrence of solid tumors elsewhere is rare. Herein we have described a rare
case of synchronous double malignancy of endocrine organs (thyroid-adrenal) in a young
woman who underwent renal transplantation.
Case Report. A 37-year-old woman with end-stage renal disease for 18 years
underwent transplantation when she was 30 years old with a 17-year-old standard
cadaveric donor receiving immunosuppressive therapy with mycophenolate mofetil,
cyclosporine, and steroids. Follow-up demonstrated good indices of renal function with
negative tumor pathology at 79 months when, at an annual ultrasound monitoring, we
found a lesion in the right lobe of the thyroid and left adrenal neoplasm of dubious
interpretation. The cytology for the thyroid was highly suspicious of papillary
carcinoma, whereas the histological examination after surgery diagnosed a thyroid
multifocal papillary microcarcinoma (mpT1NxMx) and an oxyphil cell adrenocortical
carcinoma (pT2, N0).
Results. Six months after total thyroidectomy with central lymphadenectomy and left
kidney and adrenal gland removal the patient showed no evidence of recurrent lesions and
stable graft function.
Conclusions. The rare occurrence of solid tumors after transplantation has no known
etiopathogenetic relation. Despite the young age of the patient and the double neoplasm
that could have produced an unfavorable outcome for the patient and the graft, careful
follow-up for tumor pathologies and multidisciplinary management achieved an early
diagnosis of both tumors with a surgical eradication without adjuvant therapy, preserving
the life of the patient and the function of the graft.
From the Dipartimento di Discipline Chirurgiche ed Onco-
logiche (A.I. L.M., V.D.P., G.D., C.M., M.C.G., G.S., M.B., F.C.,
G.B.), and Dipartimento di Patologia Umana, (A.M.F.). Facoltá di
Medicina e Chirurgia, Universitá degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo,
Italy
Address reprint requests to Attilio Ignazio Lo Monte, Associate
Professor of Surgery, Dipartimento di Discipline Chirurgiche
ed Oncologiche, Università degli Studi di Palermo–Facoltà di
Medicina e Chirurgia, Via del Vespro, 129, 90127 Palermo, Italy.
E-mail: ailomonte@unipa.it
© 2011 by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 0041-1345/–see front matter
360 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010-1710 doi:10.1016/j.transproceed.2011.02.040
Transplantation Proceedings, 43, 1201–1205 (2011) 1201