EBV infection is associated with a number of human malignancies: Burkitt's lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, Hodgkin's disease and lymphomas in transplant patients. (by Dr. Swaminathan, University of Florida)
The vast majority of the human population has been infected with EBV, which maintains a persistent infection in its host. Although EBV is carried by 80% - 90% of adults in a latent form, it only rarely causes cancer. Understanding the mechanisms by which EBV transforms a normal cell into an uncontrolled, proliferating cancer cell is therefore likely to lead to fundamental insights into the process of cancer causation.
Epstein Barr Virus: the impact of scientific advances on clinical practice
Clonal Proliferations of Cells infected with Epstein-Barr Virus in Preinvasive Lesions related to Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Serologic markers of Epstein-Barr virus infection and nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Taiwanese men.N Engl J Med. 2001;345:1877-82.
