A cluster of young patients with Burkitt's lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma in central Texas.

During a five-month period in 1982, diagnoses were made of Burkitt's lymphoma in three children and nasopharyngeal carcinoma in three teenagers who were residents of a small geographic area of central Texas. The observed number of these two Epstein-Barr virus-related cancers was significantly greater than the number expected in young patients based on Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results incidence rates. No epidemiologic associations were found linking any of the patients. Environmental studies including serological assays to determine a specific viral etiology were unrevealing. A search for new agents and the preservation of materials for future studies should continue to be a high priority in the evaluation of cancer clusters.