Introduction

In an astonishing and tragic turn of events, a 69-year-old man from Arizona lost his battle with a rare donor-derived cancer following a liver transplant intended to treat his existing liver cancer. This one-of-a-kind case sheds light on the hidden risks of organ transplantation.

Background on the Patient

The patient had been suffering from alcoholic cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) – a form of liver cancer – and underwent a liver transplant at the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Phoenix in 2019. The surgery was initially deemed a success. Sadly, just months later, the man's health took a dire turn as he developed an aggressive cancer that was distinctly different from the HCC he had previously faced.

Discovery of Donor-Derived Cancer

Medical examinations revealed that the new tumors, which were confined to his transplanted liver, originated from the organ donor. This shocking twist is profoundly rare, with doctors unable to find comparable cases in medical literature—except for one similar case involving a 41-year-old man whose donor was found to have lung cancer shortly after the transplant.

Details of the Donor

The donor in this case, a 50-year-old man with a history of smoking, did not have any known lung tumors or a prior diagnosis of cancer at the time of the donation. Prior to the transplant, extensive tests failed to reveal any malignancies, which raises critical questions about the adequacy of pre-donation screenings.

Post-Transplant Complications

Over the following months post-transplant, standard imaging tests indicated what was initially classified as 'indeterminate' masses in the patient’s liver. Unfortunately, these turned out to be burgeoning tumors, leading to a diagnosis of "poorly differentiated carcinoma," identifying it as metastatic lung cancer that had unknowingly been transmitted from the donor.

Final Outcome

Despite undergoing chemotherapy and experiencing a brief stabilization of his condition, the patient ultimately succumbed to the consequences of the aggressive cancer, compounded by the immunosuppressive medications necessary to prevent organ rejection.

Conclusion