Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for Epstein-Barr virus-associated T/NK-cell lymphoproliferative disease.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is implicated in a variety of human diseases, some of which have fatal outcomes. Some EBV related diseases are considered to be candidates for the treatment of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). X-linked lymphoproliferative (XLP) syndrome is one of the representative diseases in which more than half of affected males die of infectious mononucleosis (IM) within a few weeks of primary infection, whereas the minority who survive have an increased risk of acquired hypogammaglobulinemia and lymphoma. Patients with XLP usually die by the age 40. Similarly, the majority of patients with chronic active EBV infection develop hemophagocytic syndrome, organ failure, opportunistic infection, and/or lymphoma and die within 5-10 years from onset. Recently, HSCT has provided successful outcomes in these patients. In this review, progress in the new therapeutic strategy is summarized, focusing on EBV-associated T/NK-cell lymphoproliferative disease (LPD), which is one of the heterogeneous EBV-associated disorder.