Secondary lymphomas: a review on lymphoproliferative diseases arising in immunocompromised hosts: prevalence,...

This paper reviews the major information on lymphoproliferative diseases developing in primary and acquired immunodeficiencies, in organ allograft recipients, and in different diseases with immune impairment such as rheumatoid arthritis, angioimmunoblastic lymphadenopathy, and Hodgkin's disease (secondary lymphomas). The hypothetical role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in the pathogenesis of lymphoproliferative diseases in immunocompromised hosts has come from the examination of lymphoma cells or tissues for Epstein-Barr nuclear antigen (EBNA), or carriage of the viral genome, and will be extensively reviewed. The characteristics and the prognosis of high-grade lymphomas developing in the acquired immunodeficiency disease (AIDS) will be analyzed, together with their pathogenetic mechanisms, with particular emphasis on the constant presence in the lymphoma cells (mostly of Burkitt-type) of the c-myc oncogene rearrangement and activation. The principal methods of study of secondary lymphomas and major attempts at therapy will reviewed as well.