title: Clinical and laboratory observations in a lymphoma-prone family.
abstract: Three sisters developed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Thirteen maternal relatives had adenocarcinomas of various types, predominantly breast and large bowel. Detailed laboratory assessment of this family revealed a variety of immunologic abnormalities. Two lymphoma patients had elevated anti-early antigens (EA) Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) titers. One of the two also had a markedly elevated anti-viral capsid antigen (VCA) EBV titer. The two lymphoma patients were human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical, but two unaffected siblings shared the same HLA haplotypes. One of the lymphoma patients and four unaffected family members were anergic; and three unaffected family members had a decreased percentage of T-cells. These data suggest that a subtle disturbance in cellular immune functions may play a causal role in some familial aggregations of malignant lymphoma.
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001797:Blood Protein Electrophoresis; D005260:Female; D006650:Histocompatibility Testing; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008875:Middle Aged; D010375:Pedigree