Lack of evidence of Epstein-Barr virus infection in patients with Castleman's disease. Molecular genetic analysis

OBJECTIVE: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is associated with a diverse group of malignancies and many lymphoproliferative disorders. Castleman's disease (CD) is atypical lymphoproliferative disorder. The role of EBV in the pathogenesis of CD is not clear yet. The objective of this study is to investigate the EBV status in CD.

METHODS: We searched medical records for cases of CD at the Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Canada and King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Twenty cases were found. The presence of EBV was analyzed using polymerase chain reaction. Polymerase chain reaction were performed at the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Toronto General Hospital. The study started in 2001 and completed in 2005.

RESULTS: The age range was 16-90 years. Seventeen patients manifested the localized form of CD. There were 11 males 9 females. Epstein-Barr virus genome was detected only in 2 cases; both were males and have plasma cell type. One is a localized type and the other is of a multicentric type. One patient revealed clonal rearrangement of the immunoglobulin H.

CONCLUSION: The number of cases is small; however it appears that EBV is less likely to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of CD; however, it seems to be associated with clonal progression.