Extranodal malignant lymphoma of the upper aerodigestive tract: prevalence of Epstien-Barr virus (EBV) infection in King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.

BACKGROUND

High frequency of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in the normal mucosa of the upper aerodigestive tract suggests that it may serve as a reservoir for the virus. Malignant lymphomas arising in this site may be associated with EBV.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the prevalence of EBV infection in extranodal malignant lymphomas of the upper aerodigestive tract.

SETTING

King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thailand.

DESIGN

Descriptive study.

PATIENTS: 42 Thai patients who presented between 1998 and 2003.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: The expression of EBV mRNAs (EBERs) of malignant lymphoma was studied by means of in situ hybridization in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens.

RESULTS

The recruited subjects were 26 males and 16 females, and their age ranged from 3 to 85 years with the mean of 51.43 years, in 4 of them human immune deficiency virus (HIV) infection was documented. Ten of 42 cases (23.81%) expressed EBER transcripts and were extranodal NK/T-cell lymphomas, nasal type (7 cases), plasmablastic lymphomas (2 cases) and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (1 case). Three of 4 cases (75%) of known HIV-seropositive cases were EBV-positive (2 plasmablastic lymphomas and 1 diffuse large B-cell lymphoma).

CONCLUSION

In the upper aerodigestive tract, EBV was present in some but not all malignant lymphoma. It was associated with extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma, nasal type and B-cell lymphoma arising in HIV-infected patients, but it was not found in B-cell lymphoma arising in immunocompetent patients.