Researchers are investigating whether a new blood test could help identify a rare but serious blood cancer at an earlier stage in people who have undergone kidney transplants.
Why Rare Blood Cancers Occur After Transplant
Kidney transplant patients receive immunosuppressive drugs to prevent organ rejection. While essential, these treatments weaken the immune system’s ability to fight infections and detect abnormal cell growth. This increases the risk of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), a rare blood cancer.
The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the main driver of PTLD. EBV infects most people during their lifetime and usually remains dormant. In transplant recipients, reduced immune surveillance can allow the virus to reactivate and trigger cancer.
In the UK, around 50 transplant patients develop PTLD each year. Because the cancer is rare, research has been limited, but available case studies suggest survival rates range from 40% to 60%. Clinicians say earlier diagnosis and improved treatments are urgently needed.
A Researcher Working To Change Outcomes
Dr Heather Long, an expert in immune system–virus interactions at the University of Birmingham, has received a £230,000 Professor Michael Nicholson research project award. The funding will support her efforts to identify blood-based markers of PTLD and understand how PTLD tumours evade the immune system.
“PTLD is difficult to detect and often diagnosed late, which delays treatment and leads to poor outcomes,” Dr Long said. “Studying a rare disease is challenging because obtaining enough samples takes time. A clinical trial in Birmingham and Newcastle finally gave us the material needed to begin this work.”
Could A Blood Test Spot Cancer Development Earlier?
Using samples from a UK-wide clinical trial, Dr Long’s team has already identified several potential PTLD markers in patients’ blood. The next phase of the project will analyse the same markers in a separate group of kidney transplant patients with PTLD to determine whether the disease can be reliably detected through a blood test.
The researchers will also examine tumour cell genes to understand how PTLD cancers block immune cells from entering the tumour environment—a strategy that helps the cancer escape immune attack.
Aiming For Earlier Diagnosis And Better Treatments
Dr Long hopes this work will eventually lead to a routine test to diagnose PTLD sooner and open pathways for more targeted therapies.
“We are grateful for the support from Kidney Research UK,” she said. “If we can confirm these blood markers, we may be able to diagnose PTLD much earlier. And by studying how tumours avoid the immune system, we hope to uncover new treatment targets.”
Dr Vineeth Rajkumar, Head of Research at Rosetrees, said the charity is proud to co-fund research with Kidney Research UK. “This project advances earlier diagnosis and explores new treatment strategies for PTLD,” he said. “It has the potential to improve outcomes for transplant patients facing this life-threatening complication and may also inform approaches for other lymphomas.”
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