[Association of Epstein-Barr virus with primary malignant lymphomas of the digestive tract].

The association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with 85 non-Hodgkin lymphomas of the digestive tract in nonimmunocompromised cases was investigated, using in situ hybridization technique to detect EBV encoded small RNAs in paraffin sections. 85 cases (83 B-cell type and 2 T-cell type) included 3 gingivas, 1 tongue, 3 palates, 10 tonsils, 43 stomachs, 2 jejunums, 12 ileums, 3 ileo-cecal regions, 5 colons and 3 rectums. Out of 85 cases, 4 (4.7%) were EBV-positive, comprising 1 B-cell lymphoma of the tonsil, 2 B-cell lymphomas of the stomach, and 1 T-cell lymphoma of the rectum. On the other hand, EBV-positive rate in nasal/nasopharyngeal lymphomas examined for comparison was very high, 81.8% (9 out of 11). These results show that EBV is associated with only a small proportion of lymphomas of the digestive tract in nonimmunocompromised case, suggesting the existence of the other oncogenetic factors in the pathogenesis of this group of lymphomas.