Epstein-Barr Virus Genome in Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphomas Occurring in Immunocompetent Patients: Highest Prevalence in Nonlymphoblastic T-cell Lymphoma and Correlation With a Poor Prognosis

A series of 520 cases of non-Hodgkin‘s lymphoma (NHL; 374 of B-cell, 130 of T-cell, 5 of non-Blnon-T-cell, and 11 of undetermined phenotype) was analyzed for the presence of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) using RNA in situ hybridization (RISH). The aims of the study were to assess the frequency of EBV-encoded small nuclear RNAs 1 and 2 (EBER), abundant immediate early RNAs (BHLF), and latent membrane protein-l (LMP-1) in cases covering the entire histologic spectrum of NHL, and to analyze whether EBV status had prognostic relevance with regard to patient survival. EBER positivity was found in 25 of 374 (7%) B-NHL and 40 of 130 (3196) T-NHL (P< .00005) cases, but in only 1 of 16 cases with non-Blnon-T-cell or undetermined phenotype. Among TNHL cases, EBER positivity was confined to angioimmunoblastic, lymphadenopathy-like lymphoma (11 of 13 cases, 8590). Lennert’s lymphoma (five of seven cases, 71%). and pleomorphic T-NHL (24 of 67 cases, 3696). Mycosisfungoides, lymphoblastic, and CD3O-positive anaplastic large T-cell NHL cases were consistently EBV-negative. Double-labeling by RISH and immunophenotyping demonstrated the presence of EBV in neoplastic T cells, but no CD21 expression was found in the EBER-positive T-NHL cases. LMP-1 was expressed in 12 of 40 (30?’0) EBER-positive T-NHL and 5 of 25