Glioblastoma in kidney transplant recipients. Report of five cases

Five patients who developed an intracranial glioblastoma after a kidney transplant are described. All patients underwent surgical removal of the lesion and eventually radiation therapy, but none of them is still alive at follow-up. The possibility of tumours occurring in transplant recipients is a recognised entity and several series have been reported. Nevertheless, little consideration has been paid to post-transplant gliomas and a precise evaluation of this risk is still lacking. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain a possible link. One possible factor may be the immunosuppressive state of recipients as a result of post-transplant administration of immunosuppressive drugs, as it is known that gliomas have an higher incidence in HIV-infected patients. However, it is not yet clear whether immunosuppressive drugs function as a direct transforming factor.