Epstein-Barr virus in Hodgkin's disease patients in Japan

✍ Scribed by Yasuhiko Tomita; Masahiko Ohsawa; Hiroyuki Kanno; Michiko Hashimoto; Akio Ohnishi; Hirofumi Nakanishi; Katsuyuki Aozasa

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 633 KB
• Volume: 77
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0008-543X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0142(19960101)77:1<186::aid-cncr30>3.0.co;2-#

✦ Synopsis

BACKGROUND.

The association of Epstein-Bar virus (EBV) and Hodglun's disease (HD) has been suggested by serologic, epidemiologic, and molecular biologic studies. The high level of EBV association with HD in the developing countries was discussed in relation to the high HD incidence in these areas. Japanese HD shows a distinct peak incidence in older adults. In contrast, Western HD shows a bimodal pattern, the first peak in young adulthood and a second peak in older patients. In the present study, the EBV association with HD in Japan was investigated, and the results were compared with those reported from industrialized and developing countries.

METHODS.

Fifty-seven patients with HD were studied for the presence or absence of the EBV genome by the polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization methods. Seven cases were excluded from the analysis for EBV because of poor preservation of nucleotides in the specimens.

RESULTS.

EBV genomes were detected in the Reed-Stemberg (R-S) cells of 32 of the 50 patients examined (64%). The EBV association was independently affected by histologic subtype (84% in mixed cellularity and 44% in others), sex (76% in males and 31% in females), and age (76% in patients aged 40 years and older and