The Pattern of Burkitt's Lymphoma in Malaysian Patients.

Abstract

Endemic and sporadic Burkitt's lymphoma differ in site and age of presentation, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) association. This study aimed to describe the clinical presentation, EBV association and p53 expression of Burkitt's lymphoma in 59 Malaysian patients. Expression of Bcl-2, retinoblastoma and Ki67 proteins was also investigated. EBV was detected by EBER in situ hybridization. Expression of p53, Bcl-2, pRb and Ki67 proteins was detected by immunohistochemical staining. Polymerase chain reaction was employed for EBV subtyping and detection of translocation t (14; 18). The male to female ratio was 3.9: 1. The most common age group was children younger than 15 years (72.9%), with a mean of 15.8y. The disease is more common in ethnic Chinese. EBV association is 33.3% and all were infected with type-A virus. Expressions of p53, Bcl-2, pRb and Ki67 proteins were detected in 42/49 (85.7%), 9/54 (16.7%), 47/51 (92.2%) and 35/39 (89.7%) of the biopsies, respectively. Translocation t (14; 18) was not detected in cases expressing the Bcl-2 protein. Clinical presentation and EBV association of Burkitt's lymphoma in Malaysian patients corresponds with that of sporadic Burkitt's lymphoma. This study also reveals that a substantial proportion of cases express high levels of p53 and retinoblastoma proteins, in contrast to the Bcl-2 protein.