Background and objectives: Pediatric lymphoma is known to be associated with Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection. The objectives were to detect the frequency of EBV infection in pediatric lymphomas in our locality and to study its relationship with the clinicopathological characteristics of the patients.
Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, we examined 78 consecutive cases of pediatric lymphomas for the presence of EBV in tumor cells by real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction on paraffin blocks for latent membrane protein-1 (LMP-1) over 3 years (January 2012 –January 2015). We collected data of the patients with pathology-proven primary lymphoma including age, sex, histologic subtype, and risk stratification.
Results: The most common subtype of pediatric lymphomas was NHL (52/78, 66.5%), while HL was diagnosed in 33.5%. EBV LMP-1 gene detection was found in 38.5% of HL, and 28.8% of NHL cases. EBV infection was significantly related to age, gender, and histological subtype in NHL cases; however, it was related to age only in those with HL. The overall difference in EBV LMP-1 gene detection was statistically significant regarding the age at presentation (P < 0.001).
Conclusion: The frequency of EBV infection in pediatric lymphomas in our locality is higher compared to Western countries, but it is lower than in endemic areas. Younger age at diagnosis was the most significant factor associated with EBV infection.
Keywords: Pediatrics, Epstein–Barr virus, Lymphoma, South Egypt Cancer Institute.