The role of Epstein-Barr virus and elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor in determining prognosis in Asian peripheral T-cell lymphomas.

Evidence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in patients continues to be associated with the development of various lymphomas, and EBV genomic regions are detected in some lymphoma cells. Its role in causality and progression of disease versus the role of a passenger continues to be debated. Several reports of Asian T-cell lymphomas have also associated these diseases with evidence of EBV infections. Asian T-cell lymphomas are clinically distinct from Western T-cell lymphoma, and are also associated with increased levels of cytokine production, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF). The current study reports correlations of EBV + T-cell lymphoma with higher levels of TNF, and suggests some prognostic correlations.