Latent Epstein–Barr virus infection status and prognosis in patients with newly diagnosed Hodgkin lymphoma in Southeast China: a single-center retrospective study

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the latent Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection status of patients with newly diagnosed Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and to discuss the relationship between tumor cell EBV status and the prognosis of HL patients. Patients and methods: A total of 134 previously untreated HL patients were analyzed in the study. Epstein–Barr virus encoded RNAs (EBERs) in situ hybridization was performed to detect the EBV status of tumor cells. Results: EBV positive status correlated with sex (p=0.046) and the proportion of extranodal lesions(p=0.037). There was no obvious correlation between EBV status and overall survival (OS) or failure-free survival (FFS) in all cases, but in cases over 50 years old, EBV positive group had an inferior 5-year FFS compared with EBV negative group (38.5%±13.5% vs 90.9%±8.7%, p=0.012). In FFS multivariate analysis of this age subgroup, EBV positive status was associated with significantly inferior survival (HR, 10.10; 95% CI, 1.26–81.08; p=0.030). Conclusion: This study demonstrates positive tumor cell EBV status is an unfavorable prognostic factor in elder HL patients.