Rapamycin Inhibitors for Eye Squamous Cell Carcinoma after Renal Transplantation: A Case Report

Abstract

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> The immunosuppressive efficiency obtained in the last decades in kidney transplantation significantly improved graft survival. However, there is still a high risk and incidence of cancer in transplant patients strongly and directly related to the type of immunosuppression. An increasing body of evidence suggests that the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway may play a pivotal role in the development and progression of several neoplastic diseases. <b><i>Case Presentation:</i></b> We describe a 47-year-old male patient who received a cadaveric primary renal transplant in November 2008 developing a poorly differentiated infiltrating and ulcerated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) at the eye level. In this patient, the modification of an immunosuppressive regimen with introduction of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors and withdrawal of calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) led to the resolution of this severe condition. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The introduction of mTOR inhibitors and withdrawal of CNIs in kidney-transplanted patients with de novo eye SCC should be considered in this clinical setting.