Onkológia 6/2022

Epstein-Barr virus-positive difuse large B-cell lymphoma – A case report

Purpose: EBV+ DLBCL belongs to aggressive B-cell lymphomas and is characterized by EBV incorporation into malignant cells. Chronic inflammation associated with EBV infection is thought to contribute to lymphoma pathogenesis. It is known from its poor response to standard chemotherapy and high relapse rates. Case: The case report describes highly aggressive course and poor prognosis of EBV-positive lymphoma in a 54-year-old patient. After the rapid onset of symptoms, there was a short-term response to 1-line treatment, accompanied by numerous infectious complications with subsequent primary progression in the CNS. The evidence of lymphoma in the CNS was unclear according to imaging examinations and cerebrospinal fluid analysis. Progression of lymphoma was mainly accompanied by an increase in EBV virus copies in the serum and cerebrospinal fluid. Definitive proof of its spread in the brain was confirmed only post-mortem. Conclusion: Our case report with only 4 months of the patients survival after the diagnosis of EBV-positive DLBCL confirms its poor prognosis and the correlation of the level of EBV copies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid with the course of the disease.

Keywords: diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, Epstein-Barr virus