Epstein-Barr virus and Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is a lymphoproliferative disorder of B-lymphocytes. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) antigens can be detected in tumours in up to 40% of all HL cases. Patients with EBV-associated HL also show increased levels of EBV-infected B-lymphocytes in blood compared with normal individuals and non-EBV-associated HL cases. A peculiar pattern of restricted EBV-antigen expression, dominated by latent membrane protein-1 (LMP-1), LMP-2 and EBV nuclear antigen-1, is the characteristic feature of tumour-specific Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg cells. This knowledge has generated studies examining adoptive immunotherapy of autologous or allogeneic cytotoxic T-cells for the treatment of refractory EBV-positive HL cases. Whether aborted EBV or another infectious aetiology is involved in non-EBV-associated HL cases remains an open question.
Andersson
Jan
J
Division of Infectious Diseases and Centre for Infectious Medicine, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden. jan.andersson@medhs.ki.se
D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000150:complications*; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy