EPSTEIN-BARR-VIRUS IN CUTANEOUS LYMPHOMATOID GRANULOMATOSIS

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been associated with various extra-cutane ous lymphoproliferative diseases and it has been suggested that EBV ma y have a similar aetiological role in the skin. In this study, 10 biop sies from 7 cases of primary cutaneous lymphomatoid granulomatosis hav e been analyzed, using in situ hybridisation, for the presence of EBV encoded RNAs (EBER-1 and EBER-2). Only one case showed positive staini ng with the EBER probes and it is concluded that, in the skin, the rel ationship between EBV and lymphomatoid granulomatosis is variable. The role of EBV as an aetiological agent in primary cutaneous lymphomatoi d granulomatosis appears less important than in primary respiratory di sease.