Contribution of the Epstein–Barr virus to the molecular pathogenesis of Hodgkin lymphoma
- The Cancer Research UK Institute for Cancer Studies, Medical School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Dr P Murray, Department of Pathology, Division of Cancer Studies, The Medical School, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; p.g.murray{at}bham.ac.uk
- Accepted 3 June 2007
Abstract
Although the morphology of the pathognomonic Reed–Sternberg cells of Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) was described over a century ago, it was not until recently that their origin from B lymphocytes was recognised. The demonstration that a proportion of cases of HL harbour the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) and that its genome is monoclonal in these tumours suggests that the virus contributes to the development of HL in some cases. This review summarises current knowledge of the pathogenesis of HL with particular emphasis on the association with EBV.
Footnotes
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Competing interests: None declared.
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Funding: The Leukaemia Research Fund, Cancer Research UK and the Association for International Cancer Research provided support for this study.
