Case report: Melanoma after liver transplant (2006)

Record number:

288

Adverse Occurrence type:

MPHO Type:

Estimated frequency:

Most recent risk assessment for melanoma (Council of Europe, 2022): Due to the very aggressive behaviour of this tumour, it is considered an unacceptable risk for organ donation. Malignant melanoma in the donor history: Due to the lack of exhaustive data, transplanting organs from donors with treated malignant melanoma must still be considered to be associated with a high transmission risk. If precise donor data about staging, therapy, follow-up and recurrence-free survival are available, and evaluation by the dermato-oncologist concludes there is a low probability of recurrence and metastasis, organ donation might be considered for selected recipients.

Time to detection:

9 months

Alerting signals, symptoms, evidence of occurrence:

General symptoms (weakness, nausea and weight loss). Further work revealed metastatic tumors at multiple sites.

Demonstration of imputability or root cause:

Two recipients affected from the same donor. Liver (transplanted because of hepatitis C and HCC): Commercially available PCR–based microsatellite marker assay to perform tissue identity testing. Genetic profiles of the patient’s original hepatocellular carcinoma and the melanoma from the autopsy specimen were compared with the profile of the normal donor liver tissue. The pattern of microsatellite expression strongly suggested that the melanoma originated from the transplanted liver.Kidney: Molecular genetic analysis of the melanoma confirmed donor origin.

Imputability grade:

3 Definite/Certain/Proven

Groups audience:

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