Buggage R R, Smith J A, Shen D, Chan C C
Laboratory of Immunology, National Eye Institute, National Institutes of Health, 10 Center Drive, Bldg. 10, Room 10 N112, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Am J Ophthalmol. 2001 Mar;131(3):381-3. doi: 10.1016/s0002-9394(00)00865-5.
To examine the cause of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma.
We examined a conjunctival biopsy from a 29-year-old Jamaican man who developed bilateral conjunctival masses. Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma was diagnosed using routine histology, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, microdissection, and the polymerase chain reaction.
Histopathologic examination revealed a conjunctival lymphoma. Clonality of the T-cell receptor gamma gene and human T-cell lymphotrophic virus gag gene were detected in the malignant cells. The demonstration of the human T-cell lymphotrophic virus gene and the rearrangement of the T-cell receptor gene in this neoplasm provide proof that human T-cell lymphotrophic virus is the cause of this conjunctival T-cell lymphoma.
Human T-cell lymphotrophic virus is the cause of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma, an aggressive malignancy of CD4+ lymphocytes.
