Elevated antibody titers to epstein-barr virus in Hodgkin's disease

Abstract

Sera from 63 patients with Hodgkin's disease and 42 patients of comparable age with other lymphomas were tested for antibody to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) by indirect immunofluorescence. The geometric mean titer (GMT) of EBV antibody in the patients with Hodgkin's disease was significantly higher (1:367) than the GMT of the other lymphoma patients (1:132) and 85 normal controls (1:90). Higher EBV titers in untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease were associated with a longer duration of symptoms, more advanced disease, shorter survival, and a histologic picture of lymphocyte depletion. Treated patients had significantly higher titers than untreated patients. When the same sera were tested for antibody to 4 other herpes viruses (herpes simplex type I and type II, cytomegalovirus, and varicella), no differences in titer between patient and control groups were found. Although this study associates elevated EBV titers with those factors relating to a poor prognosis in patients with Hodgkin's disease, the data do not distinguish between an etiologic role for EBV and that of a passenger virus which produces high titers as a result of the disease process.