Epstein-Barr virus and the origin of Hodgkin lymphoma

Martina Vockerodt1, Fathima Zumla Cader, Claire Shannon-Lowe

  • 1School of Cancer Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, the United Kingdom. p.g.murray@bham.ac.uk.

Chinese Journal of Cancer
|November 25, 2014
PubMed

Although Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is present in the malignant Hodgkin/Reed-Sternberg (HRS) cells of a proportion of cases of classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), how the virus contributes to the pathogenesis of this disease remains poorly defined. It is clear from the studies of other EBV-associated cancers that the virus is usually not sufficient for tumor development and that other oncogenic co-factors are required. This article reviews what is known about the contribution of EBV to the pathogenesis of cHL and focuses on emerging evidence implicating chronic inflammation as a potential oncogenic co-factor in this malignancy.

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