Burkitt's lymphoma with 2/8 translocation: a case report with special reference to the clinical features

A case of Japanese Burkitt's lymphoma (BL) with a t(2; 8) (p11; q24), a variant translocation in BL, is reported. The patient was a 45-year-old woman in whom a subcutaneous right axillary tumor first occurred. Remission was not achieved despite extensive chemotherapy. Of the four nonendemic BL, two endemic BL, and one nonendemic Burkitt-type acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL-L3) cases with a t(2; 8) reported so far, including the present case, four (two nonendemic and two endemic) were positive for Epstein-Barr virus-determined nuclear antigen (EBNA) and two revealed extremely high antibody titers against Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), the remaining one not having been tested for EBV. Thus, a possible close relationship between the t(2; 8) and EBV infection has to be considered. The t(2; 8) in nonendemic BL seems to occur more often in adults than in children.