Viruses and lymphoma/leukaemia

Viruses of the retrovirus and herpesvirus families are aetiological agents of human leukaemias and lymphomas. The human T-cell leukaemia virus type 1 causes adult T-cell leukaemia and the Epstein-Barr virus is associated with Burkitt's lymphoma, lymphomas in immunosuppressed people, and Hodgkin lymphoma. The discovery of human herpesvirus type 8 has led to the identification of a rare and unusual group of virus-associated lymphoproliferative diseases. Individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus are at greatly increased risk of developing lymphoma but here the mechanism of lymphomagenesis is indirect. Recent data suggest that hepatitis C virus Infection is also associated with an increased incidence of lymphoma, whereas data relating to SV40 remain controversial.