Comparison between presence of epstein barr virus in nodal and extra nodal diffuse large B cell lymphoma of head and neck, an Iranian experience

Abstract EN

Background : Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) is one of the most common viral infections in human population.

EBV has a role in pathogenesis of Hodgkin's lymphoma, Burkitt's lymphoma and nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

The role of EBV in non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, diffuse large B cell (NHL - DLBL) in the head and neck is controversial. Objectives : The purpose of this study is to find out the difference between the presence of Epstein Barr virus in nodal and extra nodal lymphoma of head and neck. Patients and Methods : A total of 30 cases of DLBL in two separate groups were collected from pathology department.

First group consist of 15 patient with DLBL of neck lymph node and the other consist of 15 patients with extra nodal DLBL of head and neck mainly in palatine tonsil.

Both immune-histo-chemical (IHC) study and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of late membrane antigen (LMP) were performed on formalin fixed paraffin embedded tissue. Results : All of 30 cases were negative for EBV in IHC method.

But in PCR method 10% of patients were positive for LMP gene.

There were 2 positive cases in nodal lymphoma and 1 positive case in extra nodal lymphoma group. Conclusions : It seems that IHC is not a sensitive method for detection of EBV as compare with PCR method.

Overall, the finding of EBV in NHL depends on site, type of lymphoma and the detection method.