Surveillance of EBV Infection as a Risk Factor for PTLD in Pediatric and Adult Renal Transplant Recipients - a Multicenter Prospective Study

PTLD represents a heterogeneous group of abnormal lymphoid proliferations, generally of B-cells, that occur in the setting of ineffective T-cell function because of pharmacological immunosuppression. Because the vast majority of PTLDs are associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, surveillance of EBV infection may have the potential to prevent the development of PTLD by early intervention. However, the cut-off values of "high" EBV viral load remain badly defined due to a lack of prospective studies and assay standardization. The aim of this ongoing multicenter prospective study is the serial detection of primary EBV infection or reactivation in a homogeneous patient population of pediatric renal transplant recipients during the first 2 years posttransplant by the combined analysis of quantitative EBV viral load by a standardized quantitative PCR technique, EBV serology and EBV-specific T-lymphocytes for the identification of high-risk patients.