ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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Year : 2009 | Volume
: 57
| Issue : 1 | Page : 36--40 |
Epstein-Barr virus as a possible etiologic agent in primary central nervous system lymphoma in immunocompetent individuals
Ashwani Tandon, Sundaram Challa, M Shanmugam, Swarnalatha Gopalan, Roshni T Paul, Raghunadharao Digumarthi
Department of Pathology, Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Punjagutta, Hyderabad - 500 082. Andhra Pradesh, India
Correspondence Address:
Sundaram Challa Department of Pathology, Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, Punjagutta, Hyderabad - 500 082. Andhra Pradesh India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0028-3886.48813
Background: Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) occurs in both immunocompetent and immunosuppressed individuals. The role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been implicated in immunosuppressed individuals but its role is not established in immunocompetent individuals. Aims: To study the possible role of EBV in PCNSL in immunocompetent individuals.Setting and Design: Retrospective study. Materials and Methods: Thirty patients with PCNSL were studied immunohistochemically with antibodies to CD45, CD20, CD3 and EBV latent membrane protein-1 (EBV LMP-1). In situ hybridization was done in 19 patients where enough tissue was available using a specific oligonucleotide probe for EBV-Early RNA (EBER). Results: All the patients were immunocompetent and mean age was 41.6 years. Histologically they were diffuse large cell lymphoma: 25 (83.3%) were B cell, 1(3.3%) was T cell and 4 (13.3%) were unclassified. EBV LMP-1 showed variable membrane and cytoplasmic positivity in 24 (80%) patients. In situ hybridization for EBER was negative in all the 19 patients studied. Conclusion: In this region of the world probably EBV has no etiologic role in PCNSL in immunocompetent individuals.
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