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A case-control study of Hodgkin's disease in Brazil II. Seroepidemiologic studies in cases and family members
Insights
Patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) show significantly higher Epstein-Barr virus antibody titers. Family members of HD patients with high titers also exhibited elevated antibody levels compared to relatives of HD patients with low titers.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Oncology
- Virology
Background:
- Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with several malignancies, including Hodgkin's disease (HD).
- Antibody titers to EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA) are often elevated in individuals with HD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate EBV VCA antibody titers in patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) and their families.
- To determine if EBV antibody titers correlate with disease status or family history.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study comparing EBV VCA antibody titers in 70 HD patients and 92 controls matched for age and sex.
- Analysis included geometric mean titers (GMT) and proportions of elevated titers (≥1:320).
- Family members (siblings, parents, children) of HD patients were also assessed.
Main Results:
- HD patients had significantly higher EBV VCA antibody GMTs compared to controls (p < 0.0005).
- Elevated titers (≥1:320) were found in 35.5% of HD cases versus 2.9% of controls.
- No significant differences in GMTs were observed based on sex or HD histologic subtype.
- An inverse correlation between age and titer was noted in HD patients.
- GMTs of relatives were similar to controls, but family members of HD patients with high titers showed higher GMTs than relatives of HD patients with low titers (p < 0.01).
Conclusions:
- Elevated EBV VCA antibody titers are strongly associated with Hodgkin's disease.
- While overall family member titers were not elevated, a subset of families (those with high-titer HD patients) showed increased EBV antibody levels.
- These findings suggest a potential role for EBV in HD pathogenesis and familial susceptibility.
Abstract:
A case-control study of antibody titers to the viral capsid antigen of Epstein-Barr virus was carried out in 70 patients with Hodgkin's disease (HD) and in 92 siblings, 50 parents and 19 children of the HD patients, each paired with a control matched for age and sex. The geometric mean titer (GMT) of the HD patients was significantly greater than that of the controls (t69 = 6.30, p < 0.0005), and the proportion of HD cases with titers greater than or equal to 1:320 was significantly elevated (35.5% vs. 2.9%). No significant differences in GMTs were found when the HD patients were grouped by sex or by histologic subtype. An inverse correlation between age and titer was noted among HD patients but not among controls. The GMT of the 161 relatives of the HD cases was similar to that of their respective controls. Likewise, there was no significant elevation of the GMT of the subset consisting of family members of HD patients with high titers when compared to controls. However, when the GMT of the family members of HD patients with high titers was compared to that of the relatives of the HD patients with low titers, a significant difference was found (t159 = 2.54, p < 0.01).