EXPRESSION OF EPSTEIN-BARR-VIRUS IN PATIENTS WITH HODGKINS-DISEASE INTAIWAN

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.