title: Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I and adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma outside Japan and the Caribbean Basin.
abstract: Ninety-six patients with the diagnosis of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) were identified in countries outside Japan and the Caribbean Basin. Seventy-four of these patients were initially diagnosed in the United States; 25 of 52 patients whose places of birth were known had been born in the United States. The detection of 14 patients born in the southeastern United States, all black, indicates a group deserving particular attention for studies of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I), a suspected etiologic agent in most cases of ATLL. Although geographic clustering of ATLL in areas endemic for HTLV-I, particularly southwest Japan and the Caribbean Basin, is a dramatic feature of this disease, a review of the literature indicates that HTLV-I-associated ATLL probably occurs sporadically in a much wider distribution, the disease being diagnosed in native-born African, Chinese, European, and Latin American patients. A registry for ATLL cases is suggested, to assist in the identification of risk factors for this disease and, at the same time, improve case definitions and early diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: E S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Jaffe
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Manns
authors.forename: E L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: W A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Blattner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000032:analysis*; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies