Open AccessA meta-analysis of potential relationship between Epstein-Barr-Encoded-RNA (EBER) and onset time of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders
Author(s) -
Hossein Khedmat,
Reza Karbasi-Afshar,
Shahram Agah,
Mohammad Ebrahim Ghamar-Chehreh,
Mohsen Amini
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
saudi journal of kidney diseases and transplantation/našrat amraḍ wa zira'aẗ al-kulaẗ
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.268
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 2320-3838
pISSN - 1319-2442
DOI - 10.4103/1319-2442.152398
Subject(s) - medicine , lymphoproliferative disorders , post transplant lymphoproliferative disorder , meta analysis , epstein–barr virus , epstein–barr virus infection , immunology , virus , lymphoma
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) encodes two non-polyadenylated RNAs termed EBV-encoded RNAs (EBERs). In this study, we tried to find series in which data of EBER and onset time of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) for patients have been documented to conduct a meta-analysis. A comprehensive search of the literature was performed by Pubmed and Google scholar to find reports indicating test results for EBER and PTLD onset in transplant patients. PTLD was considered "early onset" when it develops within the first post-transplant year. Finally, 265 patients from 15 studies have been included in the meta-analysis. The overall meta-analysis also showed a significant relation between EBER test positivity and early-onset PTLD development [relative risk (RR): 1.36; 95% CI: 1.16-1.59; P <0.001]. The i2 index was 49.8%. Our study suggests that PTLD lesions with positive EBER test are more likely to develop within the early post-transplant period. Since early-onset PTLD is supposed to have better prognosis, having a positive EBER test might not be a bad news. However, for having a precise conclusion, prospective studies are needed to be conducted.