Immunotherapeutic strategies for EBV-associated malignancies

Advances in our understanding of the role of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) in the control of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated malignancies and the overall biology of these diseases have led to the development of novel the rapeutic strategies designed to specifically target viral antigens expresse d in these malignancies. Long-term success of many of these strategies is c onstrained by the latency phenotypes adopted by different diseases. Adoptiv e transfer of polyclonal virus-specific CTLs has been used successfully to reverse the outgrowth of malignancies such as post-transplant lymphoprolife rative disease (PTLD). On the other hand, limited viral gene expression in other EBV-associated malignancies such as Burkitt's lymphoma, Hodgkin's dis ease and nasopharyngeal carcinoma limits the efficacy of immunotherapeutic strategies used for PTLD. Preclinical studies based on specific targeting o f viral antigens expressed in these malignancies have provided very encoura ging results and thus are likely to serve as an important platform for the treatment of human patients.