Blattner W A, Gibbs W N, Saxinger C, Robert-Guroff M, Clark J, Lofters W, Hanchard B, Campbell M, Gallo R C
Lancet. 1983 Jul 9;2(8341):61-4. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(83)90056-9.
19 (34%) of 56 Jamaicans with lympho-proliferative neoplasia had antibody to the human T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV) in their sera. 17 of those positive had either non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) or chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Of 16 consecutive patients presenting with NHL, 11 (69%) were HTLV seropositive. Virus-positive patients with NHL, among whom females were over-represented, had the clinical features and poor survival typical of adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma. HTLV-associated leukaemia/lymphoma is a distinct clinicopathological entity, and the high incidence in this series suggests that HTLV is an important cause of lymphoreticular neoplasia in Jamaica.
