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Updated: Aug 23, 2026
An Efficient and Simple Method to Establish NK and T Cell Lines from Patients with Chronic Active Epstein-Barr Virus Infection
Published on: March 30, 2018
Epstein-Barr virus load correlating with clinical manifestation and treatment response in a patient with
Manuel Battegay1, Christoph Berger, Christoph Rochlitz
1Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine & Research, University Hospital of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. mbattegay@uhbs.ch
Abstract:
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated lymphoma may arise secondary to angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AITL). The prognosis is poor despite chemotherapy and experimental therapies. We report on a 40-year-old woman with AITL without obvious immunodeficiency in which EBV-associated lymphoma developed. The occurrence and size of enlarged lymph nodes correlated strongly with the EBV load in serum (EBVL). Treatment with valacyclovir at the early stage resulted in a drastic more than 3 log10 decrease of EBVL and complete remission. However, valacyclovir had to be stopped after 6 months due to side effects, and the lymphoma reoccurred 3 months later associated with increasing EBVL. Eventually started cytotoxic chemo- and anti-CD20 therapy resulted only in partial remission. The lymphoma progressed and 33 months after it was diagnosed the patient died. This case report demonstrates the close association of EBVL and AITL and a beneficial effect of antiviral therapy at an initial stage of disease manifestation.
