Detection of Epstein Barr Virus and HTLV-1 in Head and Neck Lymphomas / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Extranodal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) of the head and neck (H & N) accounts for 10-20% of all cases of NHL. Despite their frequency, the cause of these lymphomas is still poorly understood. Recently, the role of viral origin in NHLs, including Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), as the main cause of sinonasal lymphomas of T/NK cell phenotype and HTLV-1 as a cause of acute T-cell lymphoma/leukemia has been well documented. We investigated the clinicopathologic findings, immunophenotypic profile, and status of EBV and HTLV-1 DNA of patients with H & N lymphoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-seven patients with NHL of H & N region were studied. There were 15 males and 12 females with the median age of 50 years. All patients were reclassified according to the Working formulation (WF) and REAL classificaton. EBV genome DNA and HTLV-1 RNA were surveyed by PCR assay using formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue blocks. RESULTS: The tonsil was the most commonly involved site (44.4%), followed by nasal cavity (18.5%), nasopharynx (18.5%) and orbit (7.4%). Immunophenotyping revealed 19 cases of B cell lineage, 7 cases of T cell lineage and one case of null cell type. Most of B-cell lymphomas were diffuse large cell lymphomas (58%). Tonsillar lymphomas were all B-cell origin. Four of the five nasal cavity lymphomas and one nasopharyngeal lymphoma showed an angiocentric T/NK cell phenotype with strong association with EBV. EBV genome was detected in 15 of 26 H & N NHLs (57.7%). Seven of 19 B-cell lymphomas (36.8%) and all T/NK or null cell type lymphomas were positive for FBV DNA. However, there was no HTLV-1 positive cases found. CONCLUSIONS: It could be concluded that the high incidence of EBV of angiocentric T/NK-cell lymphomas of the nasal cavity may indicate a probable role of EBV in the development of these lymphomas.