Association of Epstein-Barr virus with sinonasal angiocentric T cell lymphoma.

AIM To investigate whether non-Hodgkin's lymphomas arising in the sinonasal region or Waldeyer's ring contain the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome in lesional tissue. METHOD Sections from paraffin wax blocks of 22 lymphoid proliferations arising in the sinonasal region or Waldeyer's ring were studied with EBV encoded RNAs (EBER-1 and -2) using in situ hybridisation. RESULTS EBV was detected in nuclei of tumour cells of five of seven T cell lymphomas and in nuclei of two of seven diffuse, large cell immunoblastic lymphomas of B phenotype in the sinonasal region. Of tumours arising in Waldeyer's ring, two of 10 non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (both large cell) were positive, as was a single case of Hodgkin's disease. Lymphoma of other types, including Western type Burkitt's lymphoma, and nodular and diffuse small cleaved cell lymphoma, were negative. CONCLUSION EBV is highly associated with large cell lymphomas especially T cell lymphomas of sinonasal origin in the indigenous Irish population, underlining the importance of this virus in nasopharyngeal lymphomas in Northern European as well as Asian populations.