Résumé
Background and objectives: This study aims to examine the possible association of Epstein-Barr virus [EBV] in Classical Hodgkin lymphoma [cHL] and to shed light on the epidemiology of Hodgkin lymphoma [HL] in Jordan
Patients and Methods: We examined 100 consecutive cases of HL for the presence of EBV in tumor cells by immunohistochemistry for latent membrane protein-1 [LMP-1]. We collected patient data on age, sex and histologic subtype. We reviewed the pathological findings in each case and confirmed diagnosis
Results: Nodular lymphocyte predominant HL was diagnosed in 6% of the cases and these were negative for EBV LMP-1. Of the 94 cases of cHL, 65% were males, the most common subtype was nodular sclerosis [NS], representing 70% of the cases, and 45.7% of cHL [43% of all HL] cases were positive for EBV LMP-1. The positive cases were significantly related to age: 51 years [p: 0.009 and 0.014 respectively], male gender [p: 0.03] and mixed cellularity [MC] subtype [p: <0.0001]. In line with other developing countries, there also appears to be a trend towards a decreasing association of EBV with cHL and a subtype switch from MC to NS in Jordan
Conclusion: The epidemiology of HL in Jordan and some developing countries is approaching that of developed countries