Cutaneous lymphoproliferative disorders associated with Epstein-Barr virusinfection: a clinical overview

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is implicated in various kinds of neopla sms including certain types of cutaneous T or natural killer (NK) cell prol iferative disorders. Although a pathogenic role of EBV infection is not cle ar, some EBV gene products expressed during a latency phase were found to h ave biological properties leading to cellular gene expression and immortali zation. Furthermore, EBV can use an array of strategies to evade host immun e responses, and maintain the latent infection. EBV-associated cutaneous ly mphoproliferative disorders are prevalent in Asia, and less frequent in wes tern countries where infectious mononucleosis is Common in adolescents and young adults. This review introduces recent advances on the mechanism of EB V infection, highlighting unique clinicopathologic manifestations of EBV-as sociated cutaneous lymphoproliferative disorders. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.