exudates and Oropharyngeal-Neoplasms

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) type B, a less potent transformer of B lymphocytes than type A, has rarely been detected in EBV-associated neoplasms except in AIDS-related lymphomas, in which about 50% of the cases contained this sub-type. In this study we analyzed the association of EBV and the distribution of virus sub-types in Asian non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of the upper aerodigestive tract. We studied archival material of 29 NHL cases from Malaysia. B- and T-cell associated antigens were demonstrated by immunohistochemistry, and EBV early RNA EBER-1 was demonstrated using the RNA in situ hybridization technique. EBV was detected in the majority of tumour cells in 11/13 T-NHL but in only 1/16 B-NHL. EBV was sub-typed by single-step polymerase chain reaction of the EBNA-2 gene. This was successful in 9/10 cases of EBER-1-positive tumours and all contained type-A virus only. Our results showed a preponderance of T-cell lymphoma of the upper aerodigestive tract in the ethnic Chinese group of Malaysian patients, and EBV was strongly associated with T-NHL but not with B-NHL. Our results suggest that type-A EBV is the prevalent sub-type in Asian NHL of the upper aerodigestive tract, similarly to findings in Asian nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Antigens, CD; Antigens, Viral; Base Sequence; Child, Preschool; DNA Primers; DNA-Binding Proteins; Epstein-Barr Virus Nuclear Antigens; Female; Herpesvirus 4, Human; Humans; In Situ Hybridization; Incidence; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Molecular Sequence Data; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms; Oropharyngeal Neoplasms; Palatal Neoplasms; Paranasal Sinus Neoplasms; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Retrospective Studies; Trans-Activators