In situ hybrdization of epstein-barr virus encoded RNA [EBER] in aspiration samples in lymphoma

ABSTRACT

This study aimed at applying a non-isotopic in situ hybridization technique for EBV detection on fine needle aspiration [FNA] samples using the cell print instrument-blue supplied with 15 micro filter. A total of 35 selected FNA from lymph nodes, confirmed on biopsy basis, included 18 Hodgkin's disease, 12 cases of Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and 5 cases of metastasis from nasopharyngeal carcinoma, used as control. All cases of Hodgkin's disease showed a condensed EBV positivity picked up by all mononucleated and binucleated Reed Sternberg cells, in all the subtypes; sparing other polymorphic reactive cellularity. In Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma cases, 10/12 cases were EBV negative except for insignificant occasional scattered weak positivity picked up by the resulting lymphocytes. The remaining 2 cases gave condensed EBV positivity in few scattered reticulum cells. Retrospective immunohistochemical staining by [CD [15, 20, 43]] for these 2 cases, proved to belong to Hodgkin's disease, lymphocytic predominance of B-cell type. All cases of metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma showed a condensed positivity in all the metastatic epithelial cells. The usefulness of applying ISH for EBV on aspirate samples on wider scale is recommended and the possible carcinogenic role of EBV in the evolution of various subtypes of Egyptian Hodgkin's disease is discussed