BACKGROUND. The association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with Hodgkin's
disease (HD) is intimately related to socioeconomic status. The propo
rtion of HD patients with EBV is high in developing countries but low
in developed countries. The aim of this study was to delineate the ass
ociation of EBV with HD in Taiwan. METHODS. Tissues from 70 consecutiv
e cases of HD were examined for the presence of EBV, for the latent me
mbrane protein (LMP - 1) by immunohistochemistry, and for EBER-1 by in
situ hybridization. RESULTS. There were 53 males and 17 females, with
a mean age of 42 years (range, 7-75 years). Histologic subtypes inclu
ded nodular sclerosis in 36 cases (51.4%), mixed cellularity in 26 (37
.1%), lymphocyte predominance in 6, and lymphocyte depletion in 2. Ove
rall, EBV was expressed in 44 cases (62.9%), with EBER-1 expression de
tected in 40 (57.1%) and LMP-1 detected in 38 (54.3%). The following h
istologic subtypes were associated with EBV: lymphocyte predominance i
n 1 of 6 cases (16.7%), nodular sclerosis in 23 of 36 cases (63.9%), m
ixed cellularity in 18 of 26 cases (69.2%), and lymphocyte depletion i
n 2 of 2 cases (100%). CONCLUSIONS, EBV association with HD is relativ
ely high in Taiwan. Although EBV was detected in all subtypes and at a
ll ages in this study, the low endemic incidence of HD in Taiwan sugge
sts that other factors, besides EBV, play a role in the pathogenesis o
f HD. (C) 1998 American Cancer Society.