Failure Of 'Scout Cells' May Lead To Cancer In Transplant Patients
A serious form of cancer [post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD)] that occurs in some transplant patients may arise because cells that normally serve as scouts for the immune system become weakened, a new study suggests. The cancer is caused by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a herpesvirus that infects more than 90 percent of Americans but is ordinarily kept under control by the immune system. That control can be lost in people whose immune system is suppressed to prevent rejection of a transplanted organ.