Epstein-Barr virus-associated epithelial and mesenchymal neoplasms

Abstract

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous human pathogen that usually maintains a harmonious relationship with its host. Rarely, this host-virus balance is perturbed, causing a diverse group of malignancies in both immunocompetent and immunosuppressed patients. In addition to its role in hematologic malignancies (Burkitt lymphoma, subsets of Hodgkin and T-cell lymphomas, posttransplant lymphomas), EBV has been implicated in both epithelial (undifferentiated nasopharyngeal carcinoma, a subset of gastric adenocarcinomas) and mesenchymal (EBV-associated smooth muscle tumor, inflammatory pseudotumor-like follicular dendritic cell tumor) neoplasms. This review will focus on EBV-associated epithelial and mesenchymal neoplasms.