Pozzato G, Mazzaro C, Santini G, Burrone O
Institute of Medicina Clinica, University of Trieste, School of Medicine, Italy.
Leuk Lymphoma. 1996 Jun;22(1-2):53-60. doi: 10.3109/10428199609051728.
The etiology of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) remains a controversial matter, but, in the last few years, considerable evidence suggests that aberrations of the immune system and viruses may act as etiologic agents, in at least some cases of NHL. In fact, patients with primary immuno-deficiencies, or those suffering from diseases characterized by autoimmune dysfunction, show an increased risk for the development of NHL. Several viruses have been identified as possible etiologic agents for NHL; one of the best studied is the Epstein-Barr virus, which was detected in cultures of tumor cells from patients with Burkitt's lymphoma. The pathogenetic potential of this virus is illustrated by its association with an increasing number of malignant diseases. In addition, the human T-cell lymphotropic virus family (HTLV), was also recognized as possible etiologic agents for several lymphomas, such as cutaneous T-cell lymphoma and T-cell leukemia-lymphoma syndrome (HTLV-I), and T-cell hairy cell leukemia (HTLV-II). Recently, the presence of hepatitis C virus infection has also been recognized in several hematological malignancies such as mixed cryoglobulinemia, low-grade malignant lymphomas and Waldenström's disease. The possible etiopathogenetic role of this virus in non-Hodgkin's lymphomas is discussed on the basis of molecular, clinical, and epidemiological considerations.
非霍奇金淋巴瘤（NHL）的病因仍是一个有争议的问题，但在过去几年中，大量证据表明，免疫系统异常和病毒可能至少在某些NHL病例中充当病因。事实上，原发性免疫缺陷患者或患有以自身免疫功能障碍为特征疾病的患者，患NHL的风险增加。几种病毒已被确定为NHL的可能病因；其中研究得最充分的是爱泼斯坦-巴尔病毒，它在伯基特淋巴瘤患者的肿瘤细胞培养物中被检测到。这种病毒的致病潜力体现在它与越来越多的恶性疾病有关。此外，人类嗜T细胞病毒家族（HTLV）也被认为是几种淋巴瘤的可能病因，如皮肤T细胞淋巴瘤和T细胞白血病-淋巴瘤综合征（HTLV-I），以及T细胞毛细胞白血病（HTLV-II）。最近，丙型肝炎病毒感染也在几种血液系统恶性肿瘤中被发现，如混合性冷球蛋白血症、低度恶性淋巴瘤和瓦尔登斯特伦病。本文基于分子、临床和流行病学方面的考虑，讨论了这种病毒在非霍奇金淋巴瘤中可能的病因学作用。
