title: Kenneth MacGredie Memorial Lectureship. Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma.
abstract: Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) was first reported in Japan, where it has a high incidence in the southwestern region. The retrovirus, human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I), is the causative agent of ATL. In ATL-endemic areas, the rate of HTLV-I carriers is high. A definite diagnosis of ATL is based on the presence of HTLV-I proviral DNA in the tumor cell DNA. ATL cells originate from the CD4 subset of peripheral T cells. ATL shows diverse clinical features but can be divided into four subtypes: acute, chronic, smoldering, and lymphoma type. Chemotherapy is not effective; the acute and lymphoma types have a poor prognosis. Familial occurrence of ATL is common. HTLV-I infection is caused by transmission of live infected lymphocytes from mother to child, from man to female, or by blood transfusion. Infection with HTLV-I can lead to other diseases, including HTLV-I-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis and HTLV-I uveitis.
authors.affiliation: Kumamoto University School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takatsuki
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies / Q000097:blood*; D015368:Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D011533:Proviruses / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015996:Survival Rate; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D015481:HTLV-I Antibodies