Can BKPyV Infection Affect Neoplasm Transformation Among Kidney Transplant Recipients? A Case Series Study Report.

Background

There is a great deal of knowledge regarding the development of polyomavirus-associated nephropathy and polyomavirus-associated hemorrhagic cystitis in transplant recipients with active BKPyV infection. However, recent studies have revealed a potential association between BKPyV reactivation and certain malignancies, including transitional cell carcinoma, malignant melanoma, colorectal cancer, and prostate cancer. This study aimed to identify a potential link between BKPyV infection and oncogenic transformation in kidney transplant recipients.

Methods

Presentation of a case series of kidney transplant recipients diagnosed with polyomavirus-associated nephropathy who developed neoplasms after transplantation.

Results

Positive immunohistochemical reactions confirmed the presence of polyomavirus large T antigen in tissue samples from all three patients' cancers. Furthermore, a case of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma presenting BKPyV proteins in cancer cells was observed for the first time in the literature.

Conclusions

BKPyV reactivation was found to be associated with the development of both urothelial cancer, which originates directly from the BKPyV-infected site, and colorectal cancer.