EBV-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma association is not only restricted to 1 elderly patients

COHEN, M; NARBAITZ, M; METREBIAN, F; DE MATTEO, E; PRECIADO, M. V.; PAOLA ANDREA CHABAY

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CANCER. JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL DU CANCER.

JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2014 vol. 135 p. 2816 - 2824

0020-7136

DLBCL, the most common group of malignant lymphomas, account for 30% of adult non-Hodgkin lymphomas. The 2008 WHO classification included a new entity, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)+ DLBCL of the elderly, affecting patients older than 50 years. However, some reports of younger EBV+ DLBCL cases, without evidence of underlying immunosuppression, can be found. The role of EBV in tumor microenvironment composition in DLBCL is still not well understood. Our aim was to assess EBV presence and latency pattern, as well as tumor T-cell population in an adult DLBCL series of Argentina. The study was conducted on biopsies from 75 DLBCL patients. EBERs expression was performed by in situ hybridization, while EBV gene expression was analyzed using real-time PCR. LMP1, LMP2A, EBNA2, EBNA3A, CD4, CD8 and Foxp3 expression were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Nine percent of cases showed EBV expression, with similar frequency among patients younger and older than 50 years (13% and 8%, respectively). T-cell subsets were not altered by EBV presence. Latency type II was the most frequently observed, together with lytic gene expression in EBV+ DLBCL, with more than 20% of EBERs+ cells. These findings suggest that EBV+ DLBCL in our series was similar to the previously described in Asia and Latin-America, displaying latency II or III expression profile and no age-specific characteristics. Finally, EBV+ DLBCL may be an entity that is not only restricted to patients who are older than 50 years of age, in consequence the age cutoff revision may be a current goal.