Antibodies to Epstein-Barr virus-associated antigens in relatives of cancer patients.

Abstract

Elevated antibody levels to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated antigens in patients with infectious mononucleosis (IM) and lymphomas implicated EBV in the etiology of these diseases. Only in IM, however, has an etiologic role for EBV been documented. In lymphoma patients, therefore, EBV titers could be a result of the disease process or a marker of susceptibility to another oncogenic factor rather than a specific response to a suspected etiologic agent (EBV). To investigate these possibilities, sera were collected from 21 families with multiple cases of cancer, including lymphomas, which permitted the prospective evaluation of normal individuals at high risk of developing tumors. Antibody levels to the EBV capsid antigen and early antigen were significantly higher in the 83 infected members of multiple-case families than in 144 normal controls. The differences between the cancer families and the controls were most prominent in individuals under the age of 20, since antibody to EBV-associated antigens appears higher in older individuals. Antibody titers were higher in families where the prominent tumor types were carcinoma and soft-tissue sarcoma as well as lymphoma. High EBV titers in certain individuals, rather than reflecting a recent infection with EBV, may represent an abnormal immune response perhaps related to a familial susceptibility to cancer.