Plasma EBV Levels as a Prognostic Marker in Patients with Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma
- Kanapuru, Bindu MD
SYNOPSIS:
In this study, the authors studied the prognostic value of plasma Epstein Barr virus (EBV) DNA levels at diagnosis and 6 months post-treatment in patients with advanced Hodgkin lymphoma treated on the North American Cooperative Intergroup Trial E2496. A cutoff value of 60 copies/100 μL plasma was chosen to stratify samples as EBV(+) OR EBV(-) based on 96% concordance with tissue staining by standard viral nucleic acid (EBER) in situ hybridization (ISH). Plasma EBV positivity prior to treatment as well as at 6 months was associated with significantly shorter failure-free survival (FFS) compared to EBV negative samples. By contrast, no difference in FFS was observed when patients were stratified by EBER-ISH.
SOURCE:
Kanakry JA, et al. Plasma Epstein-Barr virus DNA predicts outcome in advanced Hodgkin lymphoma: Correlative analysis from a large North American cooperative group trial. Blood 20 13; 121:3547-3553