ASSOCIATION OF THE EPSTEIN-BARR-VIRUS WITH HODGKINS-DISEASE IN SOUTHERN ISRAEL

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been frequently documented in the putativ e neoplastic Hodgkin-Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells, in lymph nodes from p atients with Hodgkin's disease (HD), This association varies in differ ent geographic areas and between industrialized and developing countri es, as does the epidemiological pattern of the disease, In the present study of 106 cases of HD from the Soroka Medical Center in Beer-Sheva , which serves as the only hospital for most of the southern part of I srael, we found an association with EBV expression in only 30% of the patients; 45% of mixed cellularity (MC) cases compared with 21% of nod ular sclerosis (NS) cases were positive for EBV. The number of patient s in the 0-14-year-old age group was limited; however, 8 of these 11 c hildren were EBV positive, This low association rate of HD with the pr esence of EBV sequences is probably related to the small number of chi ldren in our series, A low proportion of EBV-associated disease in old er adults may be contributory, Other factors may be involved. (C) 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.