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Relationship between clinical stage, histopathology and antibody titers against the second epstein‐barr virus nuclear antigen (EBNA‐2) in non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma patients
Author(s) -
Masucci G.,
Mellstedt H.,
Henle G.,
Henle W.,
Rymo L.,
Masucci M. G.,
Ernberg I.,
Klein G.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
international journal of cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.475
H-Index - 234
eISSN - 1097-0215
pISSN - 0020-7136
DOI - 10.1002/ijc.2910430610
Subject(s) - lymphoma , titer , chronic lymphocytic leukemia , antibody titer , antigen , antibody , medicine , virus , pathology , immunology , gastroenterology , leukemia
Abstract Non‐Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients with centroblastic (Cb) or centroblastic‐centrocytic (Cb/Cc)‐diffuse lymphomas, immunocytoma (IC) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in clinical stages III‐IV and with active disease (highly malignant group) were compared to NHL patients with CLL, IC, and centrocytic (Cc) or centroblastic‐centrocytic (Cb‐Cc)‐diffuse/follicular lymphomas, in clinical stages I‐II and with inactive disease (low malignant group) based on the presence of antibodies to Epstein‐Barr virus (EBV) nuclear antigen I (EBNA‐I) and 2 (EBNA‐2). In the highly malignant group, anti‐EBNA‐1 geometric mean titers (GMT) were 13.2 (range <2‐80) and anti‐EBNA‐2 60.6 (range: 20‐320). The ratio between the logarithms of anti‐EBNA‐1 and anti‐EBNA‐2 antibody titers was <1.0 (mean: 0.32) in all the patients examined. In 6 out of 8 patients of the low malignant group, anti‐EBNA‐I titers were higher (mean: 30.1; range 10‐160) than anti‐EBNA‐2 titers (mean: 4.3; range <2‐80) and the EBNA 1/2 ratio was >1.0. In healthy EBV‐seropositive individuals, anti‐EBNA‐I GMT were 49 (range: 10‐320) and only 5 out of 17 individuals had detectable anti‐EBNA‐2 titers (GMT: 3; range <5‐20). The EBNA‐1/2 ratio was in all cases >1. Among patients of the highly and low malignant groups, patients with follicular‐cell‐derived lymphomas had elevated antibody titers against the restricted component of early antigens (EAR), whereas all patients with IC and 2 out of 4 CLL patients had elevated antibody titers against the diffuse component of early antigens (EA‐D). The results indicate that the ratio between anti‐EBNA‐1 and anti‐EBNA‐2 antibody titers may be of diagnostic importance in patients with immunodeficiencies.