G. De-Thé

IS BURKITT'S LYMPHOMA RELATED TO PERINATAL INFECTION BY EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS?

Burkitts lymphoma (B.L.) is very restricted geographically, whereas the Epstein-Barr virus (E.B.V.), a very likely causal factor, exists all over the world. It is proposed that perinatal infection (either transplacental, or, more probably, neonatal) is an important risk factor for the development of B.L. This hypothesis arose when the epidemiological characteristics of E.B.V. infection were compared in different parts of the world and is supported by the preliminary results of a seroepidemiological prospective study of B.L. E.B.V. would behave in a manner similar to that of animal tumour viruses whose oncogenic potential is greatly enhanced by neonatal infection.

Epstein-Barr virus markers in a series of Burkitt's lymphomas from the West Nile District, Uganda☆

In an epidemiological survey in the West Nile District of Uganda, 70 pathologically confirmed BL cases were detected over a 5-yr period; this corresponded to an annual incidence rate of 1.6 per 100,000 general population or about 5 per 100,000 children in the age group 5-14 yr. Of the confirmed cases which were examined by EBV/DNA molecular hybridization, 96% were found to contain an average of 38 EBV genome equivalents per tumour cell, whereas none of the examined unconfirmed cases did. Duplicate hybridization assays in two laboratories were in close agreement. Serological testing showed that 91% of the confirmed BL cases had elevated EBV/VCA titres (greater than or equal to 160) and 64% were EA(D)-positive (greater than or equal to 10). Most of the cases with high EBV/genome content had high VCA titres, but there was a poor correlation between the two parameters among all cases. This study confirms that in high BL incidence areas the association between EBV and this lymphoma is almost constant, whereas it is exceptional in low-incidence areas. This further supports the aetiological implication of EBV in the endemicity of this tumor in equatorial Africa.