title: The spectrum of Epstein-Barr virus-associated lymphoproliferative disease in Korea: incidence of disease entities by age groups.
abstract: This study is to identify the spectrum of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-positive lymphoproliferative diseases (LPD) and relationships between these diseases in Korea. The EBV status and clinicopathology of 764 patients, including acute EBV-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (EBV-HLH), chronic active EBV (CAEBV) infections, B-LPD arising in chronic latent EBV infection, T & natural killer (NK) cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL), B-NHLs, and Hodgkin's lymphomas (HD), were analyzed. T or NK cell NHLs were the most common forms of EBV-positive NHLs (107/167, 64%); among these, nasal-type NK/T cell lymphomas were the most common (89/107, 83%). According to the age, Burkitt's lymphoma was the most common in early childhood; in teenagers, chronic (active) EBV infection-associated LPD was the most common type. The incidence of NK/T cell lymphoma began to increase from the twenties and formed the major type of EBV-associated tumor throughout life. Diffuse large B cell lymphoma formed the major type in the sixties and seventies. In conclusion, primary infections in early childhood are complicated by the development of CAEBV infections that are main predisposing factors for EBV-associated T or NK cell malignancies in young adults. In old patients, decreased immunity associated with old age and environmental cofactors may provoke the development of peripheral T cell lymphoma, unspecified, and diffuse large B cell lymphoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Eun-Yoon
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Ki-Hyun
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Won-Seog
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Keon Hee
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.forename: Hong-Hoe
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Koo
authors.forename: Young-Hyeh
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Ko
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007723:Korea; D008232:Lymphoproliferative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome