Paper II
Question
EBV associated malignancies
Answer
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated malignancies — reflecting EBV’s capacity to immortalize/transform infected B lymphocytes and, in some contexts, epithelial cells:
- Burkitt lymphoma — endemic African form strongly associated with EBV, characterized by a c-myc translocation [t(8;14)]; EBV infection combined with chronic holoendemic malaria (immunosuppressive co-factor) contributes to pathogenesis in the endemic form.
- Nasopharyngeal carcinoma — particularly common in Southeast Asia/Southern China, strongly EBV-associated.
- Hodgkin lymphoma (certain subtypes, particularly mixed cellularity type) — EBV genome detectable within Reed-Sternberg cells in a significant proportion of cases.
- Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) — EBV-driven B-cell proliferation in immunosuppressed transplant recipients, occurring when normal T-cell surveillance of EBV-infected B cells is lost due to immunosuppressive therapy.
(Other valid examples: certain gastric carcinomas; primary CNS lymphoma in AIDS patients.)