Epidemiology of HTLV-associated leukemia.

Abstract

Type-C retroviruses have long been implicated in the etiology of leukemia and lymphoma in various animal species. Animal models exist for exogenous, horizontal, transmission of these naturally occurring RNA tumor viruses in animals and are especially well characterized for cat, cow, and some other species [21]. Human T-cell leukemia- lymphoma virus (HTLV) is the first type-C retrovirus consistently isolated and associated with specific human malignancies. It is distinct from previously identified animal retroviruses by molecular [15] and immunologic studies [10, 16, 17]. It is an exogenous virus that must be acquired by infection (i.e., not transmitted in the germ line), since HTLV proviral sequences are present in DNA of neoplastic T cells, but not in DNA of nonneoplastic B cells from the same patient [7] or in normal tissues [15].KeywordsHairy Cell LeukemiaDiffuse Large Cell TypeKalyanaraman VersusVirus Antibody PositiveThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.