Yonsei Med J.  1998 Jun;39(3):268-276. 10.3349/ymj.1998.39.3.268.

Epstein-Barr virus and gastrointestinal lymphomas in Korea

• Yang WI
• Cho MS
• Tomita Y
• Ohsawa M
• Aozasa K

• KMID: 711557
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.1998.39.3.268

Abstract

To analyze the association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with gastrointestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas arising in immunocompetent patients, 56 consecutive cases of gastrointestinal lymphomas (B-cell: 52-cases, T-cell: 3 cases, T/NK-cell: 1 case) occurring in the stomach (33 cases), intestine (22 cases) and esophagus (1 case) were investigated for the presence of EBV using polymerase chain reaction analysis as a screening method followed by EBER-1 RNA and DNA in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry for the expression of latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1). Forty-seven cases demonstrated extractable DNA and EBV DNA was detected only in 4 cases. Among the, RNA (EBER-1) and DNA ISH analysis confirmed the presence of the EBV genome in tumor cells in 3 cases (T/NK-cell lymphoma of ileum, gastric high-grade B-cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, gastric diffuse large B-cell lymphoma). Only the T/NK cell lymphoma showed diffuse positivity of tumor cells while 2 gastric B-cell lymphomas demonstrated a scattered positive reaction and no cases expressed LMP-1. Nine cases without extractable DNA by the PCR method showed no nuclear signal by EBER-1 ISH. These findings suggest that most sporadic primary gastrointestinal lymphomas in Korea are not associated with EBV.

Keyword

Epstein-Barr virus; polymerase chain reaction; in situ hybridization; gastrointestinal lymphomas

MeSH Terms

Gastrointestinal Neoplasms/virology*
Gastrointestinal Neoplasms/pathology
Genome, Viral
Herpesvirus 4, Human/isolation & purification*
Herpesvirus 4, Human/genetics
Human
In Situ Hybridization
Korea
Lymphoma/virology*
Lymphoma/pathology
Polymerase Chain Reaction