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. Copyright © 1971 American Cancer Society